Snag dynamics in a chronosequence of 26 wildfires on the east slope of the Cascade Range in Washington State, USA

Everett, Richard L.; Lehmkuhl, John F.; Schellhaas, Richard

doi:10.1071/wf00011

Cited by 89 publications

(87 citation statements)

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“…The processes of tree mortality and snag recruitment are balanced by snag decay and fall (Everett et al 1999). Snag fall rates vary according to snag size, tree species, the microenvironment, cause and season of mortality.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Snag fall rates vary according to snag size, tree species, the microenvironment, cause and season of mortality. Snag longevity is a site-specific process that needs to be determined for each area of interest (Keen 1929, Everett et al 1999. Smaller trees are more vulnerable to fire-induced death and usually tend to fall faster than larger diameter snags (Everett et al 1999, Chambers & Mast 2005.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Post-fire effects and short-term regeneration dynamics following high-severity crown fires in a Mediterranean forest

Marzano¹,

Lingua²,

Garbarino³

2012

iForest

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© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionFire is recognized as the most important natural disturbance in Mediterranean ecosystems (Trabaud 1994, Whelan 1995. In the Mediterranean basin, given the long historical human impact on ecosystems, the incidence of fire has always been particularly high (Le Houérou 1987, Trabaud 1987a. In addition to natural causes of ignition, burning was one of the management tools commonly used by man (Naveh 1975, Lloret & Marí 2001. Fire thus acted as a fundamental factor on ecosystem functioning and as a major ecological driver of vegetation changes (Attiwill 1994, Moreno & Oechel 1994, Lavorel et al. 1998, by modeling landscapes (Gillson 2009) and contributing to maintain habitat heterogeneity and biological diversity (Moreira et al. 2001, Blondel et al. 2010.Even though fires have been a major factor in Mediterranean ecosystems for millennia, the general trend in number of fires and area burned in European Mediterranean areas has dramatically increased during the last decades, principally due to land-use and climatic changes (Piñol et al. 1998, Lloret & Marí 2001, Mouillot et al. 2002, González & Pukkala 2007, Pausas & Fernández-Muñoz 2012. According to the predicted climate change scenarios for the Mediterranean region, further increases in wildfire frequency and burned areas are expected (Carvalho et al. 2008, Good et al. 2008.Although Mediterranean vegetation is able to cope with fire (Trabaud 1987a, Pausas 1999a, alterations in the fire regime (in terms for instance of higher fire recurrence or incidence of large events) can generate important consequences for Mediterranean ecosystems (Zedler et al. 1983, Vázquez & Moreno 2001 and their plant diversity. Given the very strong effect of fire on vegetation, plant distribution and ecosystem function could likely be more heavily affected by the ongoing modifications in fire regime consequent to global changes than by the direct effect of climate changes (Pausas & Fernández-Muñoz 2012). Moreover, the combined impact of these fire regime changes and enlarged environmental limitations for post-fire tree recruitment could deeply affect the species composition of Mediterranean forests (Peñuelas & Filella 2001, Peñuelas et al. 2002, Lloret et al. 2004, 2009.It is well documented that Mediterranean ecosystems recover readily after fire through an autosuccessional process (Hanes 1971, Trabaud 1994) based on efficient regeneration strategies. Post-fire recovery is usually realized by direct regeneration, i.e., the fast recovery of a plant community made up by the same species pool that existed before the disturbance (Rodrigo et al. 2004). Two main plant regeneration strategies conferring resilience to Mediterranean ecosystems are the capacity to resprout after fire (resprouter species), and the stimulation of the recruitment by fire (seeder species -Bond & van Wilgen 1996, Verdú et al. 2007). In several fire-prone communities varying proportions of woody sprouters and seeders are included (Hodgkinson 1998. Fire regime may influenc...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-fire effects and short-term regeneration dynamics following high-severity crown fires in a Mediterranean forest

Marzano¹,

Lingua²,

Garbarino³

2012

iForest

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“…In contrast to downed woody material, snag recruitment is actually more directly linked with the disturbance history of the stands. Pulses of snags are produced by periodic severe disturbance events (Everett et al 1999), while mortality due to competition or successional processes leads to more continuous and less abundant snag recruitment (e.g., Petritan et al 2014). Snag pools are more ephemeral than CWD and are strongly influenced by short-term disturbance effects.…”

Section: Influence Of Environmental Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Snag fall rate represents the main recruitment source to the downed deadwood population, and is the result of the complex interaction among several factors, related to snag size, species, stand history and disturbance regimes (Harmon et al 1986, Garber et al 2005, Angers et al 2010. While individual snags can remain standing for centuries, on average snags do not have great longevity (Morrison and Raphael 1993, Everett et al 1999, Aakala et al 2008.…”

Section: Influence Of Environmental Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental drivers of deadwood dynamics in woodlands and forests

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Deadwood dynamics play a key role in many forest ecosystems. Understanding the mechanisms involved in the accumulation and depletion of deadwood can enhance our understanding of fundamental processes such as carbon sequestration and disturbance regimes, allowing better predictions of future changes related to alternative management and climate scenarios. A conceptual framework for deadwood dynamics has been generally accepted but has not been broadly tested with empirical data. We used a large (n ¼ 6191) data set containing measurements of live and standing dead trees, and downed woody material, representing numerous woodland and forest types from throughout the Interior Western USA, to assess relationships between environmental factors and basic elements of forest structure, with particular focus on the various components of deadwood (i.e., fine woody debris, litter, duff and large deadwood, both standing and downed). Environmental gradients emerged as the most influential factors determining structure and deadwood dynamics of these diverse vegetation types. We found that dead components are approximately proportional to the live component and that all of the various components of structure can be ordered as a function of climatic gradients representing temperature and moisture. The postulate that maximum accumulation of biomass is associated with intermediate values of temperature and moisture was only partially supported by our results, indicating that conceptualizations of deadwood dynamics must be considered in the context of the particular disturbance regimes (e.g., fire, insect outbreaks, wind) most commonly associated with particular woodland and forest types. These findings are relevant to a wide range of applications, from ecosystem modeling to development of resource management plans under alternative future climates.

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“…We expect down woody fuel accumulation to continue as currently standing snags fall in the future. CWD loadings peak approximately 8-12 years post-wildfire (Everett et al 1999, Passovoy and Fulé 2006, Roccaforte et al 2012 suggesting that CWD loadings will continue to rise, perhaps beyond recommended ranges, over the next several years.…”

Section: Tree Regeneration: Mixed Interactive Effects Of Fire and Barmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bark beetles and wildfires: How does forest recovery change with repeated disturbances in mixed conifer forests?

2015

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Abstract. Increased wildfire activity and recent bark beetle outbreaks in the western United States have increased the potential for interactions between disturbance types to influence forest characteristics. However, the effects of interactions between bark beetle outbreaks and subsequent wildfires on forest succession remain poorly understood. We collected data in dry mixed conifer forests across Idaho and western Montana to test whether vegetation responses differ between sites experiencing single and repeated disturbances. We compared tree seedling density and age, surface fuel loading, and stand structure characteristics in stands that experienced either high severity wildfire, large-scale tree mortality from bark beetles, or stands that experienced high bark beetle mortality followed by severe wildfire within 3-8 years of attack. Tree seedling density was 300-400% higher in gray bark beetle-affected stands than burned sites, but there was no evidence that a beetle and wildfire interaction affected seedling densities. The age distribution of Douglas-fir and grand fir seedlings in stands with repeated disturbances differed from those that only experienced wildfire, suggesting that seed availability varies between these stands. Though both bark beetle outbreaks and wildfires resulted in the death of numerous large trees and surface woody fuel loads 100-200% greater than control sites, the creation of large snags and higher fuel loads across the landscape may have ecological benefits. Compounding effects of bark beetle activity and wildfires were not observed in surface fuel loadings or stand densities. Overall, the effects of high severity wildfire drove post-disturbance fuel complexes and succession whereas the effects of Dendroctonus pseudotsugae and Dendroctonus brevicomis outbreaks before wildfires resulted in minimal post-wildfire differences. We conclude that although seedling age structure is responsive to bark beetle and fire interactions, in terms of fuel complexes and tree densities these disturbances are non-additive and compounding effects on forest trajectory of dry mixed conifer forests of the northern Rockies were not supported.

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Snag dynamics in a chronosequence of 26 wildfires on the east slope of the Cascade Range in Washington State, USA

Cited by 89 publications

References 0 publications

Post-fire effects and short-term regeneration dynamics following high-severity crown fires in a Mediterranean forest

Post-fire effects and short-term regeneration dynamics following high-severity crown fires in a Mediterranean forest

Environmental drivers of deadwood dynamics in woodlands and forests

Bark beetles and wildfires: How does forest recovery change with repeated disturbances in mixed conifer forests?

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