Fire history and landscape dynamics in a late-successional reserve, Klamath Mountains, California, USA

Taylor, Alan H.; Skinner, Carl N.

doi:10.1016/s0378-1127(98)00342-9

Cited by 261 publications

(337 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…29). The 20-y mean fire interval at USL during the period A.D. 1700-1900 also is in broad agreement with nearby tree-ring fire-history studies over the same period (6)(7)(8). In contrast with the tree-ring records, the very high sedimentation rate and continuous 2,000-y record at USL makes possible a range of analyses not available to shorter tree-ring records or coarser-resolution sediment records.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Some periods with very low or almost no fire activity were twice as long as the ca. 80 y of fire suppression evident in tree-ring records from the region (6,7,18). Therefore the reduction of fire that has occurred since fire suppression began is not qualitatively unusual in the context of the episodic history of fire during the past 2,000 y.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Fire-history data obtained from tree-ring records suggest that before Euro-American settlement forests supported a mixed-severity fire regime characterized by minor amounts of stand-replacing high-severity fire (6)(7)(8). Recent decades of fire suppression, logging, and dense regrowth have increased forest density regionally (9), and that increased tree density, along with longer and warmer summers, may be contributing to increased fire size and severity (10,11).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Highly episodic fire and erosion regime over the past 2,000 y in the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon

Colombaroli

Gavin

2010

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

120

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Fire is a primary mode of natural disturbance in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Increased fuel loads following fire suppression and the occurrence of several large and severe fires have led to the perception that in many areas there is a greatly increased risk of high-severity fire compared with presettlement forests. To reconstruct the variability of the fire regime in the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon, we analyzed a 10-m, 2,000-y sediment core for charcoal, pollen, and sedimentological data. The record reveals a highly episodic pattern of fire in which 77% of the 68 charcoal peaks before Euro-American settlement cluster within nine distinct periods marked by a 15-y mean interval. The 11 largest charcoal peaks are significantly related to decadal-scale drought periods and are followed by pulses of minerogenic sediment suggestive of rapid sediment delivery. After logging in the 1950s, sediment load was increased fourfold compared with that from the most severe presettlement fire. Less severe fires, marked by smaller charcoal peaks and no sediment pulses, are not correlated significantly with drought periods. Pollen indicators of closed forests are consistent with fire-free periods of sufficient length to maintain dense forest and indicate a fire-triggered switch to more open conditions during the Medieval Climatic Anomaly. Our results indicate that over millennia fire was more episodic than revealed by nearby shorter tree-ring records and that recent severe fires have precedents during earlier drought episodes but also that sediment loads resulting from logging and road building have no precedent in earlier fire events.historical fire | climate variability | ecological resilience | logging | sediment charcoal

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Highly episodic fire and erosion regime over the past 2,000 y in the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon

Colombaroli

Gavin

2010

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

120

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“…Ridges typically experienced more severe fire, and CF generally only occurred on long unburnt ridges under extreme fire weather. Reduced fire severity and fire occurrence within gullies and riparian areas is commonly reported in temperate forests (Taylor and Skinner 1998;Beaty and Taylor 2001;Penman et al 2007;Wood et al 2011), though variation in this trend may occur across landscapes and fire events (see Dwire and Kauffman 2003). Greater fuel moisture and reduced wind exposure within gullies are the most probable explanations for the patterns observed in our study .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

Can precipitation influence landscape controls on wildfire severity? A case study within temperate eucalypt forests of south-eastern Australia

Collins

Bradstock

Penman

2014

Int. J. Wildland Fire

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Abstract. The environmental, economic and social impacts of wildfires depend on spatial patterns of fire severity. An understanding as to how drivers of fire severity vary across broad vegetation communities exists. However, examination of variation within communities in response to gradients of moisture has received little attention so far. This study examined whether relationships between environmental variables (i.e. fire weather, topography and fuel age) and fire severity were modified by increasing mean annual precipitation. Understorey fires were more likely to occur in young fuels (i.e. ,5 years since fire) in drier sites, although this effect diminished as precipitation increased. The probability of occurrence of understorey fires under non-extreme weather and on steep slopes was reduced in wetter areas. Relationships between crown fire and weather, topography and fuel age were largely unaltered by the precipitation gradient, with only a marginally significant interaction occurring between weather and mean annual precipitation. Greater fine fuel accumulation associated with increased precipitation presumably reduced fuel limitations imposed by environmental factors (i.e. fire weather, slope, fuel age), altering their relative control on the probability of understorey fire. The probability of crown fires is predominantly driven by fire weather and is consequently less sensitive to precipitation gradients. Consideration of precipitation gradients will be necessary when identifying controls of fire severity and devising effective fire management strategies.

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“…In terms of fire history, surface-fire frequencies in eastern Oregon and Washington, for example, varied with stand aspect and elevation, but only in landscapes with steep topography (Heyerdahl et al, 2001). Fire interval differences in California and southern Oregon were associated also with stand aspect differences (Taylor and Skinner, 1998;Taylor, 2000;Caprio and Graber, 2000;Taylor, 2001, 2008;Taylor and Skinner, 2003), with south-facing slopes generally having higher fire frequencies. In some semi-arid landscapes, aspect can also influence vegetative (fuel) productivity, thereby affecting fire ignition and spread in a negative manner.…”

Section: Spatial Fire History Patternsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Topography affected landscape fire history patterns in southern Arizona, USA

Iniguez

Swetnam

Yool

2008

Forest Ecology and Management

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Fire history and landscape dynamics in a late-successional reserve, Klamath Mountains, California, USA

Cited by 261 publications

References 30 publications

Highly episodic fire and erosion regime over the past 2,000 y in the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon

Highly episodic fire and erosion regime over the past 2,000 y in the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon

Can precipitation influence landscape controls on wildfire severity? A case study within temperate eucalypt forests of south-eastern Australia

Topography affected landscape fire history patterns in southern Arizona, USA

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