Thirty year change in lodgepole and lodgepole/mixed conifer forest structure following 1980s mountain pine beetle outbreak in western Colorado, USA

Pelz, Kristen A.; Smith, F. W.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2012.05.032

Cited by 37 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The abundance of snags and subsequent accumulation of coarse woody debris generated by overstory mortality represent a longer-term fire hazard (Gray, 2013;Page et al, 2013). Loss of the relatively uniform lodgepole pine overstory (even age, single strata) has also been shown to increase dominance of shade-tolerant conifers in some stands and create more vertically continuous fuel profiles, increasing crown fire hazard starting 1-2 decades after beetle infestation (e.g., Lynch et al, 2006;Page and Jenkins, 2007a,b;Collins et al, 2012;Hicke et al, 2012;Pelz and Smith, 2012;Gray, 2013;Page et al, 2013). These longer-term contributors to fire hazard have prompted planning of fuels reduction treatments on nearly 100,000 hectares throughout Colorado and southern Wyoming (U.S.D.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Where present, these co-occurring species will play an important role in future forest conditions. Fire hazard will likely vary with species composition in beetlekilled lodgepole pine forests (Klutsch et al, 2011;Hicke et al, 2012;Pelz and Smith, 2012). Lodgepole forests mixed with subalpine fir or Engelmann spruce typically have lower canopy base height (CBH) and higher canopy bulk density (CBD) than pure lodgepole stands (Muir, 1993;Scott and Reinhardt, 2001;Gray, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Species composition influences management outcomes following mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine-dominated forests

Pelz

Rhoades

Hubbard

et al. 2015

Forest Ecology and Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species composition influences management outcomes following mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine-dominated forests

Pelz

Rhoades

Hubbard

et al. 2015

Forest Ecology and Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Observations of stand development 20-30 years after a 1980s-era beetle outbreak [17] confirm projections of stand dynamics based on inventory of seedling establishment after the recent outbreak [3]. Both of these Colorado studies along with those conducted elsewhere [57,58] suggest that (1) uncut beetle-infested stands will develop into well-stocked, conifer-dominated forests with more subalpine fir than prior to the beetle outbreak and that (2) salvage-logged, beetle-infested stands will regenerate into pine-dominated stands, similar to those that existed at the time of the outbreak.…”

Section: Overlapping Disturbancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Site conditions and pre-disturbance forest composition and structure influence how individual and compound disturbance events affect forest ecosystem dynamics [17,18]. For example, while lodgepole The Church's Park Fire began on 3 October 2010 and grew rapidly due to a combination of moderate wind speed, unseasonably high temperature, low relative humidity (16-32%), and very low fuel moisture (5%; [44,45]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overlapping Bark Beetle Outbreaks, Salvage Logging and Wildfire Restructure a Lodgepole Pine Ecosystem

Rhoades

Pelz

Fornwalt

et al. 2018

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The 2010 Church's Park Fire burned beetle-killed lodgepole pine stands in Colorado, including recently salvage-logged areas, creating a fortuitous opportunity to compare the effects of salvage logging, wildfire and the combination of logging followed by wildfire. Here, we examine tree regeneration, surface fuels, understory plants, inorganic soil nitrogen and water infiltration in uncut and logged stands, outside and inside the fire perimeter. Subalpine fir recruitment was abundant in uncut, unburned, beetle-killed stands, whereas lodgepole pine recruitment was abundant in cut stands. Logging roughly doubled woody fuel cover and halved forb and shrub cover. Wildfire consumed all conifer seedlings in uncut and cut stands and did not stimulate new conifer regeneration within four years of the fire. Aspen regeneration, in contrast, was relatively unaffected by logging or burning, alone or combined. Wildfire also drastically reduced cover of soil organic horizons, fine woody fuels, graminoids and shrubs relative to unburned, uncut areas; moreover, the compound effect of logging and wildfire was generally similar to wildfire alone. This case study documents scarce conifer regeneration but ample aspen regeneration after a wildfire that occurred in the later stage of a severe beetle outbreak. Salvage logging had mixed effects on tree regeneration, understory plant and surface cover and soil nitrogen, but neither exacerbated nor ameliorated wildfire effects on those resources.

show abstract

“…4). Note that the timing of the second peak in fire hazard can vary by a host of site-specific factors, including snag fall and decomposition rates and the characteristics of the understory, such as the existence of advanced regeneration (present before attack) or new regeneration (Pelz and Smith 2013). The presence of large amounts of decayed roundwood on the ground (Brown and See 1981) may also provide a receptive fuelbed for hold-over spot fires (Burgan 1966, Stockstad 1979, which can in turn hamper fire suppression operations.…”

Section: Fire Behaviour Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildfire’s resistance to control in mountain pine beetle-attacked lodgepole pine forests

Page

Alexander

Jenkins

2013

The Forestry Chronicle

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Concerns about the impacts of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins)-caused tree mortality on wildfire potential in lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. var. latifolia Engelm.) forests have to date largely focused on the potential for extreme fire behaviour, including the development and spread of crown fires. Given that the wildland fire environment in which fire managers and firefighters work is composed of many interacting physical and human factors, viewing crown fire behaviour as the only or even the most important outcome of the tree mortality associated with a mountain pine beetle outbreak is questionable. Proper assessment of wildfire potential entails a broader approach, which requires expanding the concept of wildfire resistance to control to include an analysis of all relevant factors and their interactions. In this paper we describe a holistic concept of analyzing the impacts of mountain pine beetle-caused tree mortality on wildfire potential in lodgepole pine forests on the basis of fire behaviour characteristics, fire suppression operations, and firefighter safety considerations within the framework of three recognizable stages of the approximate time since the initiation of an outbreak (i.e., "red" ~1 to 5 years, "gray" ~5 to 15 years, and post-epidemic ~15+ years).Key words: fire behaviour, fire hazard, fire suppression, firefighter safety, forest fuels, tree mortality. résuméLes inquiétudes rattachées aux effets de la mortalité des arbres causée par le dendroctone du pin (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) sur les feux de forêts au sein des peuplements de pin lodgepole (Pinus contorta Dougl. var. latifolia Engelm.) ont principalement porté à ce jour sur la possibilité d' observer un comportement extrême des feux, incluant le développement et la propagation des feux de cimes. Étant donné que l' environnement des feux de forêts dans lequel travaillent les gestionnaires et les pompiers forestiers est composé de plusieurs facteurs physiques et humains en interaction, considérer le comportement des feux de cimes comme étant la seule ou encore la plus importante conséquence de la mortalité des arbres associée à l' épidémie de dendroctone du pin peut être discutable. L' évaluation adéquate du potentiel d'inflammabilité implique une approche plus globale, ce qui nécessite d' élargir le concept de résistance des feux de forêt au contrôle pour y inclure une analyse de tous les facteurs pertinents et de leurs interactions. Dans cet article, nous décrivons un concept holistique d'analyse des impacts de la mortalité des arbres causée par le dendroctone du pin sur l'inflammabilité des peuplements de pin lodgepole en se basant sur les caractéristiques du comportement du feu, les opérations de suppression du feu et les aspects de sécurité des pompiers dans le cadre de trois niveaux identifiables de temps approximativement écoulé depuis le début d'une épidémie (c' est-à-dire, « rouge » ~1 à 5 ans, « gris » ~5 à 15 ans et post-épidémie ~15+ ans).Mots clés : comportement du feu, risque de fe...

show abstract

Thirty year change in lodgepole and lodgepole/mixed conifer forest structure following 1980s mountain pine beetle outbreak in western Colorado, USA

Cited by 37 publications

References 25 publications

Species composition influences management outcomes following mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine-dominated forests

Species composition influences management outcomes following mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine-dominated forests

Overlapping Bark Beetle Outbreaks, Salvage Logging and Wildfire Restructure a Lodgepole Pine Ecosystem

Wildfire’s resistance to control in mountain pine beetle-attacked lodgepole pine forests

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About