Ecological foundations for fire management in North American forest and shrubland ecosystems

Keeley, Jon E.; Aplet, Gregory H.; Christensen, Norman L.; Conard, S. G.; Johnson, Edward A.; Omi, Philip N.; Peterson, David L.; Swetnam, Thomas W.

doi:10.2737/pnw-gtr-779

Cited by 84 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 267 publications

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“…The increased burning of the 1800s and the subsequent widespread exclusion of fire altered stand structure and composition, understory vegetation and fuel loads, and facilitated entry of nonnative species (76). Coupled with timber extraction and land clearance, the consequences for western forests were dramatic.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The minimum in burning during the 20th century is similar to the low fire activity levels that occurred during the LIA. Less than 10% of the original sawtimber stand remained at that point, mostly on the Pacific Coast (48), so while it is plausible that a reduction in forest cover contributed to reduced burning, this seems unlikely because timber extraction and destruction does not necessarily lessen wildfire risk, and in some cases increases it (76).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Long-term perspective on wildfires in the western USA

Marlon

Bartlein

Gavin

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

486

391

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Understanding the causes and consequences of wildfires in forests of the western United States requires integrated information about fire, climate changes, and human activity on multiple temporal scales. We use sedimentary charcoal accumulation rates to construct long-term variations in fire during the past 3,000 y in the American West and compare this record to independent fire-history data from historical records and fire scars. There has been a slight decline in burning over the past 3,000 y, with the lowest levels attained during the 20th century and during the Little Ice Age (LIA, ca. 1400–1700 CE [Common Era]). Prominent peaks in forest fires occurred during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (ca. 950–1250 CE) and during the 1800s. Analysis of climate reconstructions beginning from 500 CE and population data show that temperature and drought predict changes in biomass burning up to the late 1800s CE. Since the late 1800s , human activities and the ecological effects of recent high fire activity caused a large, abrupt decline in burning similar to the LIA fire decline. Consequently, there is now a forest “fire deficit” in the western United States attributable to the combined effects of human activities, ecological, and climate changes. Large fires in the late 20th and 21st century fires have begun to address the fire deficit, but it is continuing to grow.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term perspective on wildfires in the western USA

Marlon

Bartlein

Gavin

et al. 2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

486

391

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show abstract

“…Although no two landscapes have exactly the same fire regime, there is some value in recognizing modal differences (Keeley et al 2009). Two commonly recognized fire regimes are surface fire regimes and crown fire regimes.…”

Section: Fire-adapted Pinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecology and evolution of pine life histories

Keeley¹

2012

Annals of Forest Science

204

156

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Introduction Pinus is a diverse genus of trees widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Understanding pine life history is critical to both conservation and fire management. Objectives Here I lay out the different pathways of pine life history adaptation and a brief overview of pine evolution and the very significant role that fire has played. Results Pinus originated ~150 Ma in the mid-Mesozoic Era and radiated across the northern continent of Laurasia during the Cretaceous Period. Pines have followed two evolutionary strategies interpreted as responses to competition by the newly emerging angiosperms. The Strobus lineage mostly has radiated into stressful sites of low nutrient soils and extremes in cold or heat. The Pinus (subgenus) lineage has radiated into fire-prone landscapes with diverse fire regimes. Examination of life history traits illustrates syndromes associated with fire-avoider, fire-tolerater, fire-embracer, and fire-refuge strategies. Conclusion Understanding the current pattern of pine distribution requires interpreting their evolution in terms of climate, geology, and fire. All three of these factors have played a role since the Mesozoic origin of the genus. All are important to the appropriate management of these resources.

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“…On the other hand, fuels management in nonforested ecosystems, and even in some forested systems, often results in negative ecological impacts such as the direct conversion of native woody plant cover to weedy grasslands, providing corridors for invasion of non-native species, or altering hydrological regimes (Keeley et al 2009). It is here where conflicts between biodiversity conservation and asset protection tend to arise, and fuels reduction to protect communities is best considered as a resource sacrifice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Setting priorities for private land conservation in fire-prone landscapes: Are fire risk reduction and biodiversity conservation competing or compatible objectives?

Syphard¹,

Butsic²,

Bar‐Massada³

et al. 2016

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Although wildfire plays an important role in maintaining biodiversity in many ecosystems, fire management to protect human assets is often carried out by different agencies than those tasked for conserving biodiversity. In fact, fire risk reduction and biodiversity conservation are often viewed as competing objectives. Here we explored the role of management through private land conservation and asked whether we could identify private land acquisition strategies that fulfill the mutual objectives of biodiversity conservation and fire risk reduction, or whether the maximization of one objective comes at a detriment to the other. Using a fixed budget and number of homes slated for development, we simulated 20 years of housing growth under alternative conservation selection strategies, and then projected the mean risk of fires destroying structures and the area and configuration of important habitat types in San Diego County, California, USA. We found clear differences in both fire risk projections and biodiversity impacts based on the way conservation lands are prioritized for selection, but these differences were split between two distinct groupings. If no conservation lands were purchased, or if purchases were prioritized based on cost or likelihood of development, both the projected fire risk and biodiversity impacts were much higher than if conservation lands were purchased in areas with high fire hazard or high species richness. Thus, conserving land focused on either of the two objectives resulted in nearly equivalent mutual benefits for both. These benefits not only resulted from preventing development in sensitive areas, but they were also due to the different housing patterns and arrangements that occurred as development was displaced from those areas. Although biodiversity conflicts may still arise using other fire management strategies, this study shows that mutual objectives can be attained through land-use planning in this region. These results likely generalize to any place where high species richness overlaps with hazardous wildland vegetation.

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Ecological foundations for fire management in North American forest and shrubland ecosystems

Cited by 84 publications

References 267 publications

Long-term perspective on wildfires in the western USA

Long-term perspective on wildfires in the western USA

Ecology and evolution of pine life histories

Setting priorities for private land conservation in fire-prone landscapes: Are fire risk reduction and biodiversity conservation competing or compatible objectives?

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