Fire History and Western Juniper Encroachment in Sagebrush Steppe

Miller, Richard F.; Rose, Jeffrey A.

doi:10.2307/4003623

Cited by 315 publications

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“…In a similar manner, reduced grass cover (usually attributed to grazing) has been invoked to explain diminished surface fires and a widespread increase in density of xeric Juniperus spp. woodland in the interior northwestern USA (e.g., Miller and Rose, 1999). Similar changes in grass and juniper density have occurred, however, where grazing and other anthropogenic effects have been minimal (Knapp and Soule, 1998), suggesting that 20th century warming may be a factor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Climatic controls on fire-induced sediment pulses in Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho: a long-term perspective

Meyer

Pierce

2003

Forest Ecology and Management

104

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Fire management addressing postfire erosion and aquatic ecosystems tends to focus on short-term effects persisting up to about a decade after fire. A longer perspective is important in understanding natural variability in postfire erosion and sedimentation, the role of these processes in structuring habitat, and future expectations in light of a warming climate and environmental change. In cool high-elevation forests of northern Yellowstone National Park, stand ages indicate infrequent large stand-replacing fires. In warmer low-elevation forests of the Payette River region of Idaho, fire-scarred tree-rings record frequent low-severity fires before 1900; stand-replacing fires and resulting debris flows in recent decades are usually attributed to 20th-century fire suppression, grazing, and other land uses. In both areas, however, tree-ring records extend back only about 500 years. We use 14 C-dated geologic records to examine spatial and temporal patterns of fire-induced sedimentation and its relation to climate over the last 10 000 years. We review sedimentation processes in modern postfire events, which vary in magnitude and impact on stream systems depending on burn severity, basin geomorphology, and the timing and characteristics of postfire storms. Modern deposits also provide analogs for identification of fire-related deposits in alluvial fans. In Yellowstone, episodes of fire-induced sedimentation occurred at intervals of about 300-450 years during the last 3500 years, indicating a regime of infrequent high-severity fires. Millennial-scale variations in the fire-sedimentation record appear to relate to hemispheric-scale climatic change. Fire-related sedimentation is rare in Yellowstone during cooler episodes (e.g., the Little Ice Age $1200-1900 A.D.), probably because effectively wetter conditions prevented most fires from spreading. During some of the same cool periods, the Payette region experienced light surface fires and frequent, small pulses of fire-induced sediment. Between 900 and 1200 A.D., however, large fire-related debris flows occurred in both study areas, coincident with the Medieval Warm Period. During that time, drought may have limited grass growth in xeric Payette-region forests, restricting surface fire spread and allowing understory shrubs and trees to create ladder fuels. Although fire suppression and land-use effects are clearly involved in recent catastrophic fires in the Payette region, a warming climate and severe drought are probable contributors to major stand-replacing fires and postfire sedimentation, both past and present. Restoration and maintenance of conditions prior to European settlement may be unrealistic because of the potent influence of climate, and the incidence of severe fires will likely increase in both areas with future warming. #

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Climatic controls on fire-induced sediment pulses in Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho: a long-term perspective

Meyer

Pierce

2003

Forest Ecology and Management

104

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“…to coniferous woodland. A main cause of piñon-juniper expansion has been a lack of fire, a likely consequence of the grazing of fine fuels by livestock and, since the 1940s, more effective fire suppression (Burkhardt and Tisdale 1976;Miller and Rose 1999;Soulé et al 2004;. Presettlement mean fire return intervals (MFRI) in mountain big sagebrush steppe (A. t. Nutt.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sagebrush steppe recovery after fire varies by development phase of Juniperus occidentalis woodland

Bates

Sharp

Davies

2014

Int. J. Wildland Fire

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Abstract. Woodland ecosystems of the world have been changed by land use demands, altered fire regimes, invasive species and climate change. Reduced fire frequency is recognised as a main causative agent for Pinus-Juniperus L.(piñon-juniper) expansion in North American woodlands. Piñon-juniper control measures, including prescribed fire, are increasingly employed to restore sagebrush steppe communities. We compared vegetation recovery following prescribed fire on Phase 2 (mid-succession) and Phase 3 (late-succession) Juniperus occidentalis Hook. (western juniper) woodlands in Oregon. The herbaceous layer on Phase 2 sites was comprised of native perennial and annual vegetation before and after fire. On Phase 3 sites the herbaceous layer shifted from native species to dominance by invasive Bromus tectorum L. (cheatgrass). After fire, shrubs on Phase 2 sites were comprised of sprouting species and Ceanothus velutinus Dougl. (snowbrush). On Phase 3 woodland sites the shrub layer was dominated by C. velutinus. The results suggest that Phase 2 sites have a greater likelihood of recovery to native vegetation after fire and indicate that sites transitioning from Phase 2 to Phase 3 woodlands cross a recovery threshold where there is a greater potential for invasive weeds, rather than native vegetation, to dominate after fire.

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“…European settlement has altered fire regimes through elimination of aboriginal burning, fire suppression, livestock grazing, introduction of exotic plant species, and urbanization of the West (Kay 1997, Miller and Rose 1999. Herbivory and lack of fire are likely key factors in the recent expansion of western juniper and lack of aspen recruitment in communities throughout the northwest Great Basin.…”

Section: Disturbancementioning

confidence: 99%

“…2). The periodicity of western juniper encroachment into aspen parallels western juniper expansion across sagebrush steppe regions of the northwest Great Basin (Miller and Rose 1999) and the pinyon-juniper woodlands in Nevada (Tausch et al1981). Timing of juniper expansion coincides with changes in fire return intervals, optimal climatic conditions for juniper seed production and establishment, and introduction of livestock (Miller and Wigand 1994, Miller and Rose 1995.…”

Section: Juniper Expansionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Journal of Range Management, Volume 54, Number 6 (November 2001)

2001

REM

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Published bimonthly-January, March, May, July, September, November The Society For Range Management, founded in 1948 as the American Society of Range Management, is a nonprofit association incorporated under the laws of the State of Wyoming. It is recognized exempt from Federal income tax, as a scientific and educational organization, under the provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and also is classed as a public foundation as described in Section 509(a)(2) of the Code. The name of the Society was changed in 1971 by amendment of the Articles of Incorporation.The objectives for which the corporation is established are:- The Journal of Range Management is a publication of the Society for RangeManagement. It serves as a forum for the presentation and discussion of facts, ideas, and philosophies pertaining to the study, management, and use of rangelands and their several resources. Accordingly, all material published herein is signed and reflects the individual views of the authors and is not necessarily an official position of the Society. Manuscripts from anyone-nonmembers as well as members-are welcome and will be given every consideration by the editors. Editorial comments by an individual are also welcome and, subject to acceptance by the editor, will be published as a "Viewpoint."In Cooperation With: Some of the articles appearing in The assumption that ranchers are profit maximizers and that good managers can adopt technology are common among technology developers (White 1987, Workman 1986. However, the adoption of new technology by land managers is affected by many factors other than productivity including perceived risk and uncertainty (Zepada 1994). Fliegel (1993 proposed a technology adoption model for land managers in which the interaction of community characteristics (age, education, income, size of farm and tenure status) social participation in farm and/or community organizations, and communication factors (extension contact, print media contact, and radio contact) affect the rate of technology adoption. Yet, Barao (1992) Station, Tex. 77843; professor, Texas Agr. Exp. Sta., US Hwy. 87 North, San Angelo, Tex. 76901; and professor, Texas Agr. Ext. Service, US Hwy. 87 North, San Angelo, Tex. 76901 Research was funded through a gift from Dow AgroSciences LLC and a Texas A&M University Faculty Mini-Grant.Manuscript accepted 3 Feb. 2001. ResumenEl cambio demográfico de la propiedad de la tierra y el mayor reconocimiento de que alguna cantidad de plantas leñosas es valiosa para ciertos objetivos de manejo de pastizales ha conducido a aumentar el interés de practicas selectivas de manejo de arbustos. Los Quebradores de Arbustos es un programa colaborativo de extensión/investigación desarrollado en respuesta de este creciente interés. En 1999 se condujo un muestreo entre los agentes agrícolas municipales de extensión de Texas para determinar sus percepciones acerca del interés en y la adopción de prácticas de quebrado de arbustos. Utilizando 3 fotografías de umbral, los Agente...

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Fire History and Western Juniper Encroachment in Sagebrush Steppe

Cited by 315 publications

References 0 publications

Climatic controls on fire-induced sediment pulses in Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho: a long-term perspective

Climatic controls on fire-induced sediment pulses in Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho: a long-term perspective

Sagebrush steppe recovery after fire varies by development phase of Juniperus occidentalis woodland

Journal of Range Management, Volume 54, Number 6 (November 2001)

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