Experimental fuel treatment impacts on forest structure, potential fire behavior, and predicted tree mortality in a California mixed conifer forest

Stephens, Scott L.; Moghaddas, Jason J.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2005.03.070

Cited by 299 publications

(283 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The second point related to the historical distributions is that common restoration goals for stand structure attributes, particularly canopy cover, tree density, and live tree carbon, in similar forest types are on the upper end of or entirely exceed the values we report in distributions based on the 1911 data ( Fig. 3) (Stephens and Moghaddas 2005, North et al 2007, North et al 2009a. If the treatments carried out in these studies are representative of restoration treatments throughout the Sierra Nevada region and restoration of historical forest conditions is a goal, this suggests that contemporary treatment prescriptions may be too conservative with respect to residual stand structure.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Impacts of fire exclusion and recent managed fire on forest structure in old growth Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forests

2011

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Abstract. We re-sampled areas included in an unbiased 1911 timber inventory conducted by the U.S.Forest Service over a 4000 ha study area. Over half of the re-sampled area burned in relatively recent management-and lightning-ignited fires. This allowed for comparisons of both areas that have experienced recent fire and areas with no recent fire, to the same areas historically based on early forest inventories. Our results indicate substantially altered present forest conditions, relative to the 1911 data, and can largely be attributed to the disruption of the key ecosystem process for these forests, fire. For areas that burned recently there was a noticeable difference in forest structure based on fire severity. Current tree density and canopy cover in areas burned recently with moderate severity did not differ from 1911 estimates, while areas that burned recently with low severity or were unburned had higher tree density and canopy cover relative to the 1911 estimates. This emphasizes an important distinction with regard to using fire to restore forests, resting primarily on whether fires kill trees in the lower and intermediate canopy strata. Our results also demonstrate nearly a doubling of live tree carbon stocks in the present forest compared to the historical forest. The findings presented here can be used by managers and ecologists interested in restoring Sierra Nevada mixed conifer systems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Impacts of fire exclusion and recent managed fire on forest structure in old growth Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forests

2011

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“…In roaded or otherwise accessible areas, such density reductions might be accomplished by mechanical thinning, prescribed fires, or both (Stephens and Moghaddas 2005b). In remote or rugged terrain, wildland fire use or appropriate management response suppression fire may be the only reasonable option ).…”

Section: Reduce Greenhouse Gasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change and Forests of the Future: Managing in the Face of Uncertainty

Millar

Stephenson

Stephens

2007

Ecological Applications

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Abstract. We offer a conceptual framework for managing forested ecosystems under an assumption that future environments will be different from present but that we cannot be certain about the specifics of change. We encourage flexible approaches that promote reversible and incremental steps, and that favor ongoing learning and capacity to modify direction as situations change. We suggest that no single solution fits all future challenges, especially in the context of changing climates, and that the best strategy is to mix different approaches for different situations. Resources managers will be challenged to integrate adaptation strategies (actions that help ecosystems accommodate changes adaptively) and mitigation strategies (actions that enable ecosystems to reduce anthropogenic influences on global climate) into overall plans. Adaptive strategies include resistance options (forestall impacts and protect highly valued resources), resilience options (improve the capacity of ecosystems to return to desired conditions after disturbance), and response options (facilitate transition of ecosystems from current to new conditions). Mitigation strategies include options to sequester carbon and reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions. Priority-setting approaches (e.g., triage), appropriate for rapidly changing conditions and for situations where needs are greater than available capacity to respond, will become increasingly important in the future.

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“…In general, low-intensity fires do not have a great impact on the forest structure on a large scale, as they do not signif icantly reduce coarse decayed wood amounts (Stephens and Moghaddas, 2005) , tree or shrub cover (Phillips and Waldrop, 2008) . However, low-intensity fire has smaller scale impacts on environmental variables that could have important effects on the invertebrate community.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While some authors have found positive effects on both vegetation and soil (Botelho et al, 1994;Molina and Bardají, 1998;Piñol et al, 2005;Úbeda et al, 2005), others have found changes in plant species composition and dominance after the f ire treatment (Baeza and Vallejo, 2008). Despite these contradictory results, there is increasing consensus that prescribed fire will be important in restoring ecosystem processes and reducing fire risk at least in conifer forests (Stephens and Moghaddas, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-term effects of low-intensity prescribed fire on ground-dwelling invertebrates in a Canarian pine forest

García-Domínguez¹,

Arévalo²,

Calvo³

2010

For. syst.

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The effects of prescribed fire on the forest upper ground layer can have consequences for invertebrate communities. In the Canary Islands, prescribed fire is starting to be used as a tool to reduce wildfire risk, but the impacts of this management practice on the Canarian pine forest have not been investigated. The aim of this study is to explore the short-term effects of prescribed burning on the most abundant groups of ground-dwelling invertebrates. Three of six plots were randomly burnt and the other three were used as controls. Pitfall trapping was used to collect the grounddwelling invertebrates four months after burning. No differences were found in total richness, diversity, evenness and total abundance between treatments. Only Psocopteran abundance increased after fire. Litter depth, total vegetation cover and decayed wood cover were different between treatments. Canonical Correspondence Analyses (CCA) revealed differences in species composition between treatments using these environmental variables. It is concluded that the use of low-intensity prescribed burning in this stand did not have an important impact on the structural parameters of the ground-dwelling invertebrate community, but species composition changed. Care shoud be taken with valuable endemic, rare or sensible species.Key words: prescribed burning, invertebrate community, pine forest, Pinus canariensis, fire, soil ecology. ResumenEfectos a corto plazo de una quema prescrita de baja intensidad sobre los invertebrados epiedáficos de un pinar canario Los efectos del fuego prescrito sobre la capa superficial del suelo pueden tener consecuencias para las comunidades de invertebrados. Las quemas prescritas se están empezando a aplicar en las Islas Canarias como una herramienta para reducir el riesgo de incendios forestales, pero el impacto ecológico de estas prácticas aún no ha sido estudiado en el pinar canario. El objetivo de este trabajo es explorar los efectos a corto plazo de las quemas prescritas sobre los grupos más abundantes de invertebrados epiedáficos. Se establecieron seis parcelas, de las que tres fueron quemadas al azar y las otras tres se usaron como controles. Los muestreos de invertebrados se realizaron cuatro meses después de la quema mediante trampas de caída. No se encontraron diferencias entre tratamientos en riqueza, diversidad, equitatividad y abundancia total de invertebrados. En cuanto a los grupos, Psocoptera fue el único que incrementó su abundancia tras el fuego. Se encontraron diferencias significativas entre tratamientos en profundidad de mantillo, cobertura total de vegetación y cobertura de madera muerta en descomposición. Dichas variables se incluyeron en un Análisis Canónico de Correspondencia (CCA) revelando diferencias entre tratamientos en composición de especies. Se concluyó que, aunque las quemas prescritas no tienen un impacto notable sobre los parámetros estructurales de la comunidad de invertebrados, sí provocan cambios en la composición de especies, que deben ser valorados en presencia de espec...

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Experimental fuel treatment impacts on forest structure, potential fire behavior, and predicted tree mortality in a California mixed conifer forest

Cited by 299 publications

References 35 publications

Impacts of fire exclusion and recent managed fire on forest structure in old growth Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forests

Impacts of fire exclusion and recent managed fire on forest structure in old growth Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forests

Climate Change and Forests of the Future: Managing in the Face of Uncertainty

Short-term effects of low-intensity prescribed fire on ground-dwelling invertebrates in a Canarian pine forest

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