Land ownership and 20th century changes to forest structure in California

Easterday, Kelly; McIntyre, Patrick J.; Kelly, Maggi

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2018.04.012

Cited by 15 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Forest management activities also differ across management units. For example, Easterday et al (2018) noted substantial differences in 20th-century forest change by land ownership designation in California, likely as a result of differing long-term management strategies. In the NFR, rates of silvicultural treatment varied by ownership and were highest on city/countyowned lands (12.2% of total city/county area), intermediate on U.S. Forest Service lands (6%) and private lands (3.8%), and lowest on National Park Service lands (0.6%).…”

Section: Changes In Forest Cover Were Influenced By Abiotic Factors Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildfire activity and land use drove 20th‐century changes in forest cover in the Colorado front range

et al. 2019

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Recent shifts in global forest area highlight the importance of understanding the causes and consequences of forest change. To examine the influence of several potential drivers of forest cover change, we used supervised classifications of historical (1938–1940) and contemporary (2015) aerial imagery covering a 2932‐km2 study area in the northern Front Range (NFR) of Colorado and we linked observed changes in forest cover with abiotic factors, land use, and fire history. Forest cover in the NFR demonstrated broad‐scale changes 1938–2015 and overall cover increased 7.8%, but there was notable spatial variability and many sites also experienced Forest Loss. Recent (1978–2015) wildfire was the largest single driver of Forest Loss, with fires burning 14.3% of the total study area. Recently burned areas showed net losses of 36.9% forest cover. Reasons for Forest Gain were more complex, with elevation, past mining density, fire history, and topographic heat load index being the strongest predictors of increases in forest cover. Historical mining activity is one of the dominant anthropogenic impacts in ecosystems in the NFR and it had a complex, non‐linear relationship with 20th‐century changes in forest cover. Subalpine stands originating after stand‐replacing fires circa mid‐1800s to early 1900s showed some of the greatest gains in forest cover, indicative of slow and continuous post‐fire recovery through the 20th century. We also investigated factors such as land ownership, road density, forest management activities, and development intensity, which played detectable, but more minor roles in observed change. Twentieth‐century changes in forest cover throughout the NFR are a result of ecological disturbances and anthropogenic influences operating at varying timescales and overlaid upon variability in the abiotic environment.

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Section: Changes In Forest Cover Were Influenced By Abiotic Factors Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildfire activity and land use drove 20th‐century changes in forest cover in the Colorado front range

et al. 2019

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“…Overall tree density (especially small-to medium-sized shade-tolerant trees) has increased in many areas in the Sierra Nevada from fire suppression (e.g., Vankat and Major 1978;Parsons and Debendetti 1979;Beaty and Taylor 2008;Dolanc et al 2014aDolanc et al , 2014bLevine et al 2017;Easterday et al 2018), leading to an expansion of MC forests at the expense of ponderosa pine forests in this mountain range (Dolanc et al 2014a;Safford and Stevens 2017). Higher small-tree densities and greater surface fuel loads have increased fire hazards in many Sierra Nevada forests, especially those that once burned frequently with low-moderate intensity fire regimes (Biswell 1989;Agee and Skinner 2005;Stephens et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical and modern landscape forest structure in fir (Abies)-dominated mixed conifer forests in the northern Sierra Nevada, USA

Stephens

Stevens

Collins³

et al. 2018

fire ecol

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Background: Information about fire and historical forest structure and composition in fir-dominated mixed conifer forests is lacking, especially at the landscape scale. This study used historical timber survey data to characterize early forest conditions in a large fir-dominated northern Sierra Nevada landscape (area >10 000 ha). We used automated model selection to determine the suite of environmental variables that best predicted forest structure, and regression tree analysis to identify environmental settings associated with historical forest conditions and to provide a comparison to contemporary forest data.Results: While changes at our study site were more subtle when compared to those in more xeric, pine-dominated mixed conifer areas in the central and southern Sierra Nevada, there were significant increases in small-tree density and a decrease in large-tree density in the current forest. The loss of large trees was most pronounced in environments with relatively low summer water deficit and shallow slopes, which is where the highest large-tree densities were observed historically. Within the historical forest, tree density and basal area were greater in areas with higher precipitation and actual evapotranspiration, along with lower snowpack. Conclusions:Our results indicated that restoration plans should differ depending on the type of mixed conifer forest encountered. Whereas low tree densities and basal areas produced open stand conditions in many pine-dominated regions of this forest type, areas that were dominated by fir species with longer growing seasons, high water availability, and low water demand were denser and likely provided important habit for late seral species such as the California spotted owl, Strix occidentalis occidentalis (Xántus de Vesey, 1860). Working to develop forest restoration and adaptation plans to account for these differences is an important strategy to restore resiliency and encourage adaption in fire-excluded mixed conifer forests.

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“…Climate change is causing an increase in the incidence of disturbances such as drought, natural fires, pests and diseases (Brecka et al 2018;Prăvălie 2018), which can drive rapid changes in forests (Allen et al 2015). Moreover, recent anthropogenic changes due to forest exploitation, extensive grazing and land use changes are also modifying the composition and structure of forest ecosystems (Burgi et al 2000;Gimmi et al 2010;Easterday et al 2018). Examples include the increase of drought-tolerant and slow-growing species in tropical and temperate environments (Feeley et al 2011;Allen et al 2012;Zhang et al 2018), substitution of latesuccessional by early-successional conifers caused by the increase in the frequency of fires associated with climate change (Carcaillet et al 2001;Searle and Chen 2017) or the transition from conifers to broadleaf species in temperate forests (Rigling et al 2013;Vayreda et al 2016;Alfaro-Reyna et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Regeneration patterns in Mexican pine-oak forests

2019

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Background: Global change is causing an increase in the incidence of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on forests, which frequently interact synergistically and promote changes in forest structure, composition and functioning. In this study we evaluate the regeneration of Pinaceae and Fagaceae species in pure and mixed stands in Mexico to determine if current regeneration patterns are indicative of changes in the relative dominance of these two tree families, as observed in other temperate regions. We also identify the environmental factors that determine the regeneration patterns of Pinaceae and Fagaceae species in these forests. Results: We use data from two consecutive surveys of the National Inventory of Forests and Soils of Mexico (INFyS), obtained in 2004-2009 and 2009-2014. Our results show that the spatial patterns of regeneration are affected by forest structure, by climate, by the type and intensity of disturbances and by land tenure. Importantly, the presence and abundance of Fagaceae regeneration is generally higher than that of Pinaceae, and tends to be favoured (relative to Pinaceae) under warmer climates and by the presence of wildfires. Conclusions: The higher regeneration of Fagaceae relative to Pinaceae under warmer and fire-prone conditions could have important impacts on the composition and functioning of Mexican temperate forests under ongoing climate change, as well as affect their resilience to future disturbances.

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Land ownership and 20th century changes to forest structure in California

Cited by 15 publications

References 45 publications

Wildfire activity and land use drove 20th‐century changes in forest cover in the Colorado front range

Wildfire activity and land use drove 20th‐century changes in forest cover in the Colorado front range

Historical and modern landscape forest structure in fir (Abies)-dominated mixed conifer forests in the northern Sierra Nevada, USA

Regeneration patterns in Mexican pine-oak forests

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