Conifer regeneration following stand-replacing wildfire varies along an elevation gradient in a ponderosa pine forest, Oregon, USA

Dodson, Erich Kyle; Root, Heather T.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2013.03.050

Cited by 67 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 70 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…drought and insects), and interspecific competition (Turner et al 1997, Donato et al 2009, Dodson and Root 2013, Savage et al 2013, Hansen et al 2016Harvey et al 2016). However, in our simulations, post-fire establishment of the four conifer species in climatically favorable locations was limited primarily by distance to reproductively mature seed source and competition with other vegetation.…”

Section: Model Assumptions and Limits To Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 68%

“…For instance, stand-replacing wildfires in Oregon forests along an elevation gradient resulted in unsuccessful regeneration of ponderosa pine at lower elevation ranges, because soil moisture was insufficient for spring growth of the seedling taproot (Dodson and Root 2013). On the other hand, by removing existing vegetation, disturbance events such as wildfire could also provide opportunities for tree species to exploit new climatically favorable space, as has been demonstrated via aspen seedling establishment after logging activity in upslope locations (Landhäusser et al 2010).…”

Section: Geographic Shifts In Niche-space In Response To Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Potential influence of wildfire in modulating climate-induced forest redistribution in a central Rocky Mountain landscape

Campbell

Shinneman

2017

Ecol Process

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: Climate change is expected to impose significant tension on the geographic distribution of tree species. Yet, tree species range shifts may be delayed by their long life spans, capacity to withstand long periods of physiological stress, and dispersal limitations. Wildfire could theoretically break this biological inertia by killing forest canopies and facilitating species redistribution under changing climate. We investigated the capacity of wildfire to modulate climate-induced tree redistribution across a montane landscape in the central Rocky Mountains under three climate scenarios (contemporary and two warmer future climates) and three wildfire scenarios (representing historical, suppressed, and future fire regimes). Methods: Distributions of four common tree species were projected over 90 years by pairing a climate niche model with a forest landscape simulation model that simulates species dispersal, establishment, and mortality under alternative disturbance regimes and climate scenarios. Results: Three species (Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, subalpine fir) declined in abundance over time, due to climate-driven contraction in area suitable for establishment, while one species (ponderosa pine) was unable to exploit climate-driven expansion of area suitable for establishment. Increased fire frequency accelerated declines in area occupied by Douglas-fir, lodgepole pine, and subalpine fir, and it maintained local abundance but not range expansion of ponderosa pine.

show abstract

Section: Model Assumptions and Limits To Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 68%

Section: Geographic Shifts In Niche-space In Response To Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Potential influence of wildfire in modulating climate-induced forest redistribution in a central Rocky Mountain landscape

Campbell

Shinneman

2017

Ecol Process

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, other studies show that a northern aspect favors fir regeneration [22,26]. Moisture stress can be a critical factor limiting conifer regeneration in dry coniferous forests and is usually higher in sites of high solar radiation [14,17,21,25). Our observations can be partially explained due to the fact that Greek fir is considered one of the best drought-adapted European firs [27].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

“…Greek fir regeneration density decreased abruptly with distance from remnant stands and followed the negative exponential curve with decreasing regeneration abundance from the border of the unburned zone, a typical pattern of postfire fir regeneration proximity to seed sources. Post-fire conifer regeneration usually increases across the elevation gradient, possibly due to increasing moisture availability as a result of an increase in precipitation and decrease in temperature at higher elevations [8,17,25]. Moreover, slope steepness was not considered an important abiotic factor of fir regeneration as has also been reported elsewhere [18,19].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Twelve years after fire, the mean density of fir seedlings was 1436 stems•ha -1 which is close to and even higher than the fir density of the surrounding unburned stands (1125 stems•ha -1 ). Similar studies report a mean seedling density from 362 stems•ha -1 [17] to 1603 stems•ha -1 [18]. However, two studies on Greek fir regeneration reported that, 2 and 3 years after fire, no fir seedlings were observed although a considerable amount of healthy seeds was counted on the ground at distances up to 70 m from remnant trees [11,16].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Regeneration of Abies cephalonica Loudon after a Large Fire in Central Greece

Raftoyannis¹,

Spanos²

2014

SEEFOR

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

From the stand scale to the landscape scale: predicting the spatial patterns of forest regeneration after disturbance

Shive

Preisler

Welch

et al. 2018

Ecological Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Shifting disturbance regimes can have cascading effects on many ecosystems processes. This is particularly true when the scale of the disturbance no longer matches the regeneration strategy of the dominant vegetation. In the yellow pine and mixed conifer forests of California, over a century of fire exclusion and the warming climate are increasing the incidence and extent of stand-replacing wildfire; such changes in severity patterns are altering regeneration dynamics by dramatically increasing the distance from live tree seed sources. This has raised concerns about limitations to natural reforestation and the potential for conversion to non-forested vegetation types, which in turn has implications for shifts in many ecological processes and ecosystem services. We used a California region-wide data set with 1,848 plots across 24 wildfires in yellow pine and mixed conifer forests to build a spatially explicit habitat suitability model for forecasting postfire forest regeneration. To model the effect of seed availability, the critical initial biological filter for regeneration, we used a novel approach to predicting spatial patterns of seed availability by estimating annual seed production from existing basal area and burn severity maps. The probability of observing any conifer seedling in a 60-m area (the field plot scale) was highly dependent on 30-yr average annual precipitation, burn severity, and seed availability. We then used this model to predict regeneration probabilities across the entire extent of a "new" fire (the 2014 King Fire), which highlights the spatial variability inherent in postfire regeneration patterns. Such forecasts of postfire regeneration patterns are of importance to land managers and conservationists interested in maintaining forest cover on the landscape. Our tool can also help anticipate shifts in ecosystem properties, supporting researchers interested in investigating questions surrounding alternative stable states, and the interaction of altered disturbance regimes and the changing climate.

show abstract

Conifer regeneration following stand-replacing wildfire varies along an elevation gradient in a ponderosa pine forest, Oregon, USA

Cited by 67 publications

References 70 publications

Potential influence of wildfire in modulating climate-induced forest redistribution in a central Rocky Mountain landscape

Potential influence of wildfire in modulating climate-induced forest redistribution in a central Rocky Mountain landscape

Regeneration of Abies cephalonica Loudon after a Large Fire in Central Greece

From the stand scale to the landscape scale: predicting the spatial patterns of forest regeneration after disturbance

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About