Effects of prescribed fire on a Sierra Nevada (California, USA) stream and its riparian zone

The effects of indigenous prescribed fire on riparian vegetation in central California

“…Given that more than half of the diversity on these sites is attributed to non-native species, and pre-treatment data noted the prevalence of these species, it is encouraging to see the maintenance or increase in native species richness and an increase in the proportion of native species amongst all burn treatments. The results support the hypothesis that native plant diversity increases while the proportional abundance of native species decreases as a result of fall burning, which is converse to Bêche et al (2005). Additionally, the results suggest that spring and summer burning do not contribute to a disproportionate shift in overall richness or total number of individuals compared to the proportion native.…”

Climate Change Refugia, Fire Ecology and Management

“…Other studies focused on riparian forest fire ecology suggest that these areas did burn historically, that these areas have demonstrated the greatest rate of fuel accumulation during fire suppression, and are at greatest risk for uncharacteristic high severity fire now due to fuel accumulations [61,62]. While historic fires only influenced aquatic communities in the short-term if at all [63], uncharacteristic large, high severity fires may have a larger influence. Uncharacteristic high severity fires reduce canopy cover, change the peak water temperatures in creeks, and may sometimes negatively influence sensitive aquatic species [64,65].…”

Wildfire burn patterns and riparian vegetation response along two northern Sierra Nevada streams

“…More recently, scientists have emphasized the necessity for a better understanding of the role fire plays in riparian zones, suggesting that the intertwined nature of high ecological diversity and frequent disturbance should be taken into account for riparian and stream habitat restoration and sustainability (Naiman et al, 1993(Naiman et al, , 2000Dwire and Kauffman, 2003;Everett et al, 2003). A unique study of the influence of prescribed fire on riparian vegetation and aquatic ecosystems found few overall effects, noting changes in understory species composition and a loss of area coverage, but no decrease in plant diversity (Bêche et al, 2005).…”