Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida Mill.) Communities in Northeastern New York State

Bernard, John M.; Seischab, Franz K.

doi:10.2307/2426299

Cited by 19 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…Yet, using fire as a restoration tool in this vegetation type has always been difficult given the high human population density along the Atlantic coastline, a cultural lack of support for fire in the surrounding region, and misguided regulations aimed at conservation of the forest resource. Pine regeneration, a major economic as well as ecological priority, has been low since the onset of fire-suppression in this forest type (Bernard & Seischab, 1995;Howard, Lee, & Eckert, 2011), while more shade-tolerant oaks have been able to persist in the absence of fire as advanced regeneration (Little, 1979;Little & Moore, 1949). Overstory removal is one tactic that has been applied in pine-oak barrens for stimulating the regeneration of pine and oak (Luque et al, 1994).…”

Section: Pine-oak Barrensmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most fire-adapted vegetation types are generally distributed on upper topographic positions such as ridge crests and dry, well-drained, or sandy soils near the Atlantic coast (Boerner, 1981;Forman & Boerner, 1981;Patterson & Sassaman, 1988;Pyne, 1982). Pitch pine barren communities in New Jersey and Massachusetts are located on deep coastal sand plains, and those in the Albany, New York area are located on sandy glacial outwash (Bernard & Seischab, 1995;Milne, 1985;Motzkin, Patterson, & Foster, 1999). Table mountain and pitch pine communities in the Appalachian region are 8 H. Poulos located on rocky ridge tops with poor soil (Harmon, 1980;Harrod, Harmon, & White, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fire in the Northeast: Learning from the Past, Planning for the Future

Poulos

2015

Journal of Sustainable Forestry

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Fire is an important disturbance process that regulates forest stand structure and species diversity in many ecosystems across the northeastern United States. Fires have promoted the growth and regeneration of shade intolerant genera throughout the Holocene, during which time humans have had a dominant influence on northeastern fire regimes. Humans have used fire for many applications including wildlife management, land clearing, and vegetation maintenance. Fire frequency increased during the periods of Native American occupation and early European colonization, but it has decreased since Native American displacement, colonist farm abandonment, and direct fire suppression, causing shifts in plant community composition toward shade-tolerant, pyrophobic species. Managers need appropriate benchmarks for using prescribed fire for restoration, especially in the face of climatic change. Salient lessons from history are: (a) fire is natural, (b) fire is cultural, (c) fire is economic, and (d) human decisions regarding fire will strongly impact the future of existing ecosystems. Fire, and how we as a society will manage it, must remain at the forefront of political discussions, policy development, and public education, while investment into research must provide the knowledge base for continued adaptive management in the face of an uncertain future.

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Section: Pine-oak Barrensmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fire in the Northeast: Learning from the Past, Planning for the Future

Poulos

2015

Journal of Sustainable Forestry

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“…Pine barrens are associations of drought-tolerant plants that tend to occur on well-drained sand and gravel deposits and acidic rocky summits. These complex, disturbancedependent communities are favored by frequent fire, but are subject to succession to white pine and hemlock in the northern regions and oak-pine in the south if the fire factor is removed (Bromley 1935;Bernard & Seischab 1995).…”

Section: Classification Of Western Massachusetts Pitch Pine-scrub Oakmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Lichens of Windsor Jambs, Massachusetts

LaGreca

2012

Evansia

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“…Forests and shrublands of the Northeast United States, collectively referred to as "pine barrens," include a range of communities from those dominated by dwarf pitch pine and scrub oaks (Quercus ilicifolia Wangenheim, Q. prinoides Willdenow) to mature forests of oak and pine (Bernard & Seischab, 1995;Edinger et al, 2002;Finton, 1998;Milne, 1985;Olsvig, 1980). Best known examples occur in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Long Island, and the Hudson River Valley (Bernard & Seischab, 1995;Finton, 1998;Jordan, Patterson, & Windisch, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Best known examples occur in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Long Island, and the Hudson River Valley (Bernard & Seischab, 1995;Finton, 1998;Jordan, Patterson, & Windisch, 2003). Historically, pine barrens dominated by pitch pine and scrub oaks likely existed as a spatially and temporally shifting mosaic of open-canopy barrens, closed-canopy thickets, and varying aged forest communities (Finton, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicted Crown Fire Risk Adds Incentive to Restore Open-Canopy Pine Barrens at the Wildland-Urban Interface

Bried

Gifford²,

Robertson

2015

Journal of Sustainable Forestry

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Thinning forest to restore fire-dependent, open-canopy pine barrens is important for promoting shrubland and young forest biodiversity and wildlife habitat and to mitigate chances for extreme fire behavior. Crown fire potential at the wildland-urban interface is a concern in northeastern (USA) pine barrens which contain extremely volatile fuels adjacent to densely populated areas. We used the Crown Fire Initiation and Spread simulator to model pitch pine (Pinus rigida) crown fire potential under simulated stand density reductions to help develop strategies for long-term management and conservation of pine barrens communities. Empirical data for model inputs were collected from pitch pine stands at the Albany Pine Bush (New York State, USA). Canopy structure, surface fuel moisture, and wind speed were used to predict crown fire occurrence, type (active vs. passive), and rate-of-spread. At winds > 20 km hr −1 and ≤ 9% fine fuel moisture, passive crown fire probabilities exceed 60%, and one stand near sensitive human infrastructure appears vulnerable to active crowning. Simulations suggest thinning to < 50 trees ha −1 , 10-30% mean canopy cover, or about 5-10 m 2 ha −1 basal area to minimize crown fire threat and restore ecologically high-quality pine barrens.

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Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida Mill.) Communities in Northeastern New York State

Cited by 19 publications

References 0 publications

Fire in the Northeast: Learning from the Past, Planning for the Future

Fire in the Northeast: Learning from the Past, Planning for the Future

The Lichens of Windsor Jambs, Massachusetts

Predicted Crown Fire Risk Adds Incentive to Restore Open-Canopy Pine Barrens at the Wildland-Urban Interface

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