Effects of post-fire management on dead woody fuel dynamics and stand structure in a severely burned mixed-conifer forest, in northeastern Washington State, USA

Johnson, Michelle L.; Kennedy, Maureen C.; Harrison, Sarah C.; Churchill, Derek J.; Pass, James; Fischer, Philipp

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118190

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…The study demonstrates the ecological processes that govern future fire risk; small diameter stems rapidly contribute to an increasing fuel load, whereas the larger boles (which are the focus of salvage logging) fall at a lower rate that may be delayed 1-6 years following fire. Experimental and simulation studies demonstrate short-term increases but long-term decreases in woody surface fuel loadings in salvage-logged post-fire conifer forests compared to untreated controls (McIver and Ottmar 2007, Dunn and Bailey 2015, McIver and Ottmar 2018, Johnson et al 2020). However, a second fire or reburn can erase salvage logging treatment effects on standing and down woody fuel loadings (McIver and Ottmar 2018) and override salvage logging effects on fire risk, suggesting that in landscapes conducive to a regime of frequent surface fires, timely reintroduction of repeated fires may be the most effective restoration post-fire management strategy (Larson et al 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Understanding snag and wood dynamics is critically important for evaluating the tradeoffs and effects of possible post-fire management actions such as salvage logging or reforestation planting on a host of key concerns (Graham et al 1994), including future wildfire potential (Johnson et al 2020), wildlife habitat conservation and development (Schaedel et al 2017), distribution of shrubs and forbs (Halpern and Lutz 2013), forest recruitment, forest carbon sequestration, and CO 2 emissions from fire (Stenzel et al 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Large-diameter trees dominate snag and surface biomass following reintroduced fire

et al. 2020

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The reintroduction of fire to landscapes where it was once common is considered a priority to restore historical forest dynamics, including reducing tree density and decreasing levels of woody biomass on the forest floor. However, reintroducing fire causes tree mortality that can have unintended ecological outcomes related to woody biomass, with potential impacts to fuel accumulation, carbon sequestration, subsequent fire severity, and forest management. In this study, we examine the interplay between fire and carbon dynamics by asking how reintroduced fire impacts fuel accumulation, carbon sequestration, and subsequent fire severity potential. Beginning pre-fire, and continuing 6 years post-fire, we tracked all live, dead, and fallen trees ≥ 1 cm in diameter and mapped all pieces of deadwood (downed woody debris) originating from tree boles ≥ 10 cm diameter and ≥ 1 m in length in 25.6 ha of an Abies concolor/Pinus lambertiana forest in the central Sierra Nevada, California, USA. We also tracked surface fuels along 2240 m of planar transects pre-fire, immediately post-fire, and 6 years post-fire. Six years after moderate-severity fire, deadwood ≥ 10 cm diameter was 73 Mg ha −1 , comprised of 32 Mg ha −1 that persisted through fire and 41 Mg ha −1 of newly fallen wood (compared to 72 Mg ha −1 pre-fire). Woody surface fuel loading was spatially heterogeneous, with mass varying almost four orders of magnitude at the scale of 20 m × 20 m quadrats (minimum, 0.1 Mg ha −1 ; mean, 73 Mg ha −1 ; maximum, 497 Mg ha −1). Wood from large-diameter trees (≥ 60 cm diameter) comprised 57% of surface fuel in 2019, but was 75% of snag biomass, indicating high contributions to current and future fuel loading. Reintroduction of fire does not consume all large-diameter fuel and generates high levels of surface fuels ≥ 10 cm diameter within 6 years. Repeated fires are needed to reduce surface fuel loading.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large-diameter trees dominate snag and surface biomass following reintroduced fire

et al. 2020

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“…Effective treatment therefore necessitates prescribed burning that is intense enough to reduce surface and ladder fuels such that the likelihood of a subsequent intense fire is reduced (Stephens et al 2012). Wildfires that result in substantial tree mortality may offer a short-term fuel reduction, but over longer time periods (15-25 yr), downed wood accumulations from snag and branch fall can elevate surface fuels and create conditions for high-intensity reburn events (Stevens-Rumann et al 2012, Johnson et al 2020). As such, moderate to highseverity wildfires are generally considered a type of longer-term fuel rearrangement (Lydersen et al 2019a).…”

Section: Box 1 Defining Restorative and Adaptive Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 2012 , Dunn and Bailey 2016 , Johnson et al. 2020 ). As such, moderate to high‐severity wildfires are generally considered a type of longer‐term fuel rearrangement (Lydersen et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adapting western North American forests to climate change and wildfires: 10 common questions

Prichard

Hessburg

Hagmann

et al. 2021

Ecological Applications

183

126

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We review science-based adaptation strategies for western North American (wNA) forests that include restoring active fire regimes and fostering resilient structure and composition of forested landscapes. As part of the review, we address common questions associated with climate adaptation and realignment treatments that run counter to a broad consensus in the literature. These include: (1) Are the effects of fire exclusion overstated? If so, are treatments unwarranted and even counterproductive? (2) Is forest thinning alone sufficient to mitigate wildfire hazard? (3) Can forest thinning and prescribed burning solve the problem? (4) Should active forest management, including forest thinning, be concentrated in the wildland urban interface (WUI)? ( 5) Can wildfires on their own do the work of fuel treatments? (6) Is the primary objective of fuel reduction treatments to assist in future firefighting response and containment? (7) Do fuel treatments work under extreme fire weather? (8) Is the scale of the problem too great -can we ever catch up? (9) Will planting more trees mitigate climate change in wNA forests? and (10) Is post-fire management needed or even ecologically justified? Based on our review of the scientific evidence, a range of proactive management actions are justified and necessary to keep pace with changing climatic and wildfire regimes and declining forest successional heterogeneity after severe wildfires. Science-based adaptation options include the use of managed wildfire, prescribed burning, and coupled mechanical thinning and prescribed burning as is consistent with land management allocations and forest conditions. Although some current models of fire management in wNA are averse to short-term risks and uncertainties, the long-term environmental, social, and cultural consequences of wildfire management primarily grounded in fire suppression are well documented, highlighting an urgency to invest in intentional forest management and restoration of active fire regimes.

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“…Another important component of early successional habitat is snag density. Snag density varies with stand age and disturbance type (Cline et al 1980, Moorman et al 1999, Greenberg et al 2018, Johnson et al 2020. Cavity-nesting birds are often limited by snag availability (Raphael andWhite 1984, Kilgo andVukovich 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Snag density and stand age, but not stand size, explain occupancy and reproduction of an imperiled cavity nester in early successional forest

Beatty¹,

Miller²,

Fletcher³

2022

ACE

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Fish and Wildlife Conservation CommissionABSTRACT. Many early successional and disturbance-dependent bird species have declined over the past several decades. Cavitynesting birds in early successional forests are vulnerable because they often require specific habitat characteristics and frequent disturbance events. We examined whether stand age (a proxy for forest succession), stand size, and snag density explained occupancy, nest survival, and productivity of a threatened cavity nester, the Southeastern American Kestrel (Falco sparverius paulus), in natural cavities in early successional forest (≤ 15 years since treatment). We conducted point counts, nest searching, and monitoring during the 2018-2019 breeding seasons in sand pine (Pinus clausa) scrub habitat in Ocala National Forest, Florida. Stands were created by either a clearcut, a clearcut followed by prescribed burn, or wildfire. Occupancy probability tended to peak in stands ≤ 5 years old, but this varied with snag density: β standage²xsnagdensity = -1.40, 95% CI (-2.57, -0.23). Even slight increases in snag density were related to large increases in occupancy across stand ages. For example, our occupancy model predicted that if there were 5 snags/ha, there was a 70% probability of occurrence (per point) in a four-year-old stand, whereas 1 snag/ha led to expected occupancy probability of 30%. Nest survival was best explained by snag density: β snagdensity = 0.71, 95% CI (0.12, 1.46). Neither occupancy nor nest survival were explained by stand size. Productivity did not have a relationship with any measured covariate. Our data indicate that snag density is an important measure of habitat quality for cavity-nesting birds and that interpreting stand age without considering the role of snag density may lead to under-or overestimating habitat quality of stands. Occupancy probability and nest survival had a low positive correlation across clearcut stands, but not in prescribed burns or wildfires. These results emphasize caution when extrapolating predictions from clearcuts to wildfire or prescribed burn stands.La densité de chicots et l'âge du peuplement, mais pas la taille du peuplement, expliquent l'occupation et la reproduction d'un nicheur cavicole menacé en forêt de début de succession

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Effects of post-fire management on dead woody fuel dynamics and stand structure in a severely burned mixed-conifer forest, in northeastern Washington State, USA

Cited by 12 publications

References 63 publications

Large-diameter trees dominate snag and surface biomass following reintroduced fire

Large-diameter trees dominate snag and surface biomass following reintroduced fire

Adapting western North American forests to climate change and wildfires: 10 common questions

Snag density and stand age, but not stand size, explain occupancy and reproduction of an imperiled cavity nester in early successional forest

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