The impact of a forest fire on a wilderness lake in northeastern Minnesota

Bradbury, J. Platt; Tarapchak, Stephen J.; Waddington, J C; Wright, Richard F.

doi:10.1080/03680770.1974.11896134

Cited by 8 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Local evidence from published data at Wolsfeld and other Big Woods lakes also appears consistent with our interpretations. Grimm's (1983) lake sediment core from Wolsfeld Lake has similar sediment characteristics (i.e., high mineral content, high density) during both the dry mid-Holocene and the Big Woods period, as has been found at other sites in Minnesota (e.g., Bradbury andDean 1993, Nelson andHu 2008; Fig. 2B).…”

Section: Evidence Of the Big Woods Droughtsupporting

confidence: 66%

“…Likewise, fossil diatom assemblages similar to those from the arid mid-Holocene have been consistently found after AD 1300 in Minnesota and Wisconsin (see Fig. 2A; Farris 1981, Bradbury 1986, Brugam et al 1988, Bradbury and Dieterich-Rurup 1993, Dean et al 1994. Even at Moon Lake, Ambrosia pollen percentages, which are expected to be high during droughty intervals, increased during the period of Big Woods development at the expense of Poaceae pollen percentages, which are expected to be high when annual precipitation is high (Clark et al 2001, Grimm 2002.…”

Section: Evidence Of the Big Woods Droughtmentioning

confidence: 58%

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Woodland‐to‐forest transition during prolonged drought in Minnesota after ca. AD 1300

Shuman

Henderson

Plank

et al. 2009

Ecology

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Interactions among multiple causes of ecological perturbation, such as climate change and disturbance, can produce "ecological surprises." Here, we examine whether climate-fire-vegetation interactions can produce ecological changes that differ in direction from those expected from the effects of climate change alone. To do so, we focus on the "Big Woods" of central Minnesota, USA, which was shaped both by climate and fire. The deciduous Big Woods forest replaced regional woodlands and savannas after the severity of regional fire regimes declined at ca. AD 1300. A trend toward wet conditions has long been assumed to explain the forest expansion, but we show that water levels at two lakes within the region (Wolsfeld Lake and Bufflehead Pond) were low when open woodlands were transformed into the Big Woods. Water levels were high instead at ca. 2240-795 BC when regional fire regimes were most severe. Based on the correlation between water levels and fire-regime severity, we infer that prolonged or repeated droughts after ca. AD 1265 reduced the biomass and connectivity of fine fuels (grasses) within the woodlands. As a result, regional fire severity declined and allowed tree populations to expand. Tree-ring data from the region show a peak in the recruitment of key Big Woods tree species during the AD 1930s drought and suggest that low regional moisture balance need not have been a limiting factor for forest expansion. The regional history, thus, demonstrates the types of counterintuitive ecosystem changes that may arise as climate changes in the future.

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Section: Evidence Of the Big Woods Droughtsupporting

confidence: 66%

Section: Evidence Of the Big Woods Droughtmentioning

confidence: 58%

Woodland‐to‐forest transition during prolonged drought in Minnesota after ca. AD 1300

Shuman

Henderson

Plank

et al. 2009

Ecology

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“…However, several studies have demonstrated that fires have little effect on nutrient levels and limnic diatoms in lakes (Schindler et al, 1980;Bradbury, 1986;Bayley et al, 1992;Moser, 1996). According to various records (summarized in St.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

The Effect of Fish Introductions on the Diatom and Cladoceran Communities of Lake Opeongo, Ontario, Canada

et al. 2005

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“…The Little Sioux fire may have produced a larger increase in P export during 1971, immediately following the fire. Although no budget data exist to assess the first-year impact, there is no evidence from the phosphorus concentrations in the lake (Tarapchak and Wright 1975) or from the phytoplankton populations (Bradbury et al 1974) to suggest any significant enrichment of Meander Lake as a result of the fire. McColl and Grigal ( 1975) reached the same conclusion based on a separate study of the effect of the Little Sioux fire on phosphorus movement in the terrestrial watersheds.…”

Section: Chemical Budgets Of the Lakesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Forest Fire on the Nutrient Influxes to Small Lakes in Northeastern Minnesota

Wright¹

1976

Ecology

118

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The Little Sioux fire of May 1971 burned most of the mixed coniferous—deciduous forest on the watersheds of Meander and Lamb lakes, two small, low conductivity lakes located in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) of northeastern Minnesota, USA. During 1972, hydrologic and chemical (Ca, Mg, K, Na, and P) budgets were determined for the terrestrial watersheds of Meander and Lamb lakes and for the lakes themselves. Budgets were also measured for Dogfish Lake, a lake physically and chemically similar to Meander Lake but whose watershed was not burned in the Little Sioux fire. These budgets show that the atmosphere supplies a significant fraction of the cations and phosphorus (Ca, 90%; Mg, 35%; K, 95%; Na, 55%; P, 95%) to the BWCA watersheds, with the remainder coming from chemical weathering. The budgets are similar to those reported for other Canadian Shield lakes and watersheds. The impact of the Little Sioux fire on nutrient fluxes was evaluated by comparing the budgets measured at Dogfish Lake with those measured at Meander Lake. This comparison showed that as a result of the burning of Meander Lake watershed, runoff increased 60% and the K and P exports increased 265% and 93%, respectively. The exports of Ca, Mg, and Na did not change significantly. The increase in runoff, probably due to the reduction in vegetative transpiration, is comparable to that measured after the 1970 Entiat fire (western Washington) and to that resulting form clear—felling experiments at Hubbard Brook (New Hampshire) and Coweeta (North Carolina). The increased nutrient losses after fire are less than those observed at Hubbard Brook and Coweeta. There was no indication of a drastic increase in nitrate export such as occurred after the Entiat fire and at Hubbard Brook. The increase in phosphorus loading of Meander Lake due to the fire was 38% (to 25 mg/m2°yr), a value that probably falls within the natural year—to—year variation in supply, and it did not represent a major impact on Meander Lake. Fire is a natural part of the BWCA forest ecosystems. The results of this study indicate that nutrient losses after the Little Sioux fire were minimal, perhaps because it was a spring fire. Fall fires may cause larger nutrient losses because more of the forest—floor material is likely to be consumed and revegetation does not begin until the following spring.

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The impact of a forest fire on a wilderness lake in northeastern Minnesota

Cited by 8 publications

References 9 publications

Woodland‐to‐forest transition during prolonged drought in Minnesota after ca. AD 1300

Woodland‐to‐forest transition during prolonged drought in Minnesota after ca. AD 1300

The Effect of Fish Introductions on the Diatom and Cladoceran Communities of Lake Opeongo, Ontario, Canada

The Impact of Forest Fire on the Nutrient Influxes to Small Lakes in Northeastern Minnesota

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