Vegetation and Two Indices of Fire on the Delmarva Peninsula

Kirwan, Jeffrey Lynn; Shugart, Herman H.

doi:10.2307/3088746

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…A survey of ice damage in southeastern Virginia, however, suggests that crown damage of any sort is rare in the forest interior (ELST-NER and WARE, 2001). Finally, fire is thought to play an important role in Delmarva forests (KIRWAN and SHUGART, 2000) and is a common marsh management technique. Although nearly all the sampled trees had charcoal on the outer bark, no fire scars were observed, indicating that fires were of low intensity and did not cause bole damage.…”

Section: Estuarine Forest Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of an Estuarine Forest and its Response to Rising Sea Level

Kirwan¹,

Kirwan

Copenheaver

2007

Journal of Coastal Research

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Section: Estuarine Forest Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of an Estuarine Forest and its Response to Rising Sea Level

Kirwan¹,

Kirwan

Copenheaver

2007

Journal of Coastal Research

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“…Beech can easily be 'stem-girdled' by fire (Smith et al, 1997), and its presence or absence on the landscape may be a long-term indicator of fire history (Kirwan and Shugart, 2000). Consequently, the older beech overstory above rhododendron in Devrek and the corresponding low charcoal density in the soil indicate that fire is unlikely to have been a major regenerative factor in the past 150-200 years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Three random soil samples were collected from 12 and 48 plots for Yayla and Devrek, respectively, using a 2 cm Â 38 cm probe for charcoal (fire) assessment. Charcoal density per plot was determined by visually counting charcoal pieces on a 1 mm Â 1 mm grid system on a transparent sheet placed on a microscopic slide, using a method developed by Kirwan and Shugart (2000).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Anthropogenic disturbances, including fire, have molded many beech and rhododendron communities throughout the world (Lemee, 1982;Nowacki and Abrams, 1994;Diaci, 1996;Latham et al, 1997;Nielsen, 1997;Peters, 1997;Sharma and Rikhari, 1997;Wiser et al, 1997;Kirwan and Shugart, 2000). Human-induced pressure has been a major component throughout the long history of civilization in the oncespecies-rich BSR (Kutluk, 1948).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…), a prominent pyrophyte in the fire-maintained Mediterranean flora of southern and western Turkey (Neyisci, 1993;Atalay, 1992), in the BSR suggest that in the 18th and 19th centuries, fire also played a significant role in the formation of these forests. A few studies have correlated charcoal particles in soil with vegetation abundance (Welch, 1999;Kirwan and Shugart, 2000). However, no research has been conducted to date to quantitatively study the effects of humans and fire on regeneration in the now rhododendron-dominated eastern beech forests of the BSR.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Soil and site factors influencing purple-flowered rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum L.) and eastern beech forests (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) in Turkey

Eşen

Zedaker

Kirwan

et al. 2004

Forest Ecology and Management

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Fire history and dendroecology of Catoctin Mountain, Maryland, USA, with newspaper corroboration

et al. 2021

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Background Our study was designed to reveal a detailed forest fire history at Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland, USA. We compared the ages of living trees to known fire dates in the dendrochronological record. Seasonality and years of fires in the dendrochronological record were juxtaposed with specific dates of fires recorded in newspapers. Results Twenty-seven pines (Pinus L.) captured 122 fire scars representing 58 distinct fire years between 1702 and 1951. Climate was significantly hotter and drier in the years of burns that affected at least two trees and was wetter two years prior. Thirty-three fires described in local newspapers were reported largely in the spring and fall months (68% between March and June, 32% between September and December). Ninety-one percent of fire scars in our tree-ring chronology had dormant seasonality. The mean fire interval was 5.47 ± 10.14 (SD; standard deviation) yr, and the Weibull median fire interval was 3.22 yr during the entire chronology. The longest fire-free interval was from 1952 to 2018. The size structure of living trees was biased toward smaller black gums (Nyssa sylvatica Marshall) and oaks (Quercus L.) that recruited in the 1930s and 1940s. Most living pitch pines (Pinus rigida Mill) recruited between 1890 and 1910, but a few individuals recruited before the 1850s. Diversity of tree stems smaller than 10 cm diameter at breast height (DBH) was generally lacking; the youngest tree >10 cm DBH in our study area had recruited by 1967. Conclusions The Catoctin Mountains experienced frequent fire during the 1800s and early 1900s. The causes of fires were diverse, including accidental ignitions and purposeful cultural burning for berry (Vaccinium L.) production. The current forest developed during a period of low deer density and after the demise of the charcoal iron industry ended an era of logging. The lack of fire since the 1950s has encouraged the development of a black gum dominated mid- and understory. Management with frequent fire would facilitate pine and oak regeneration.

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Vegetation and Two Indices of Fire on the Delmarva Peninsula

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Dynamics of an Estuarine Forest and its Response to Rising Sea Level

Dynamics of an Estuarine Forest and its Response to Rising Sea Level

Soil and site factors influencing purple-flowered rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum L.) and eastern beech forests (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) in Turkey

Fire history and dendroecology of Catoctin Mountain, Maryland, USA, with newspaper corroboration

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