Fuels and fire behavior dynamics in bark beetle-attacked forests in Western North America and implications for fire management

Jenkins, Michael J.; Page, Wesley G.; Hebertson, Elizabeth G.; Alexander, Martin E.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2012.02.036

Cited by 146 publications

(105 citation statements)

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“…First, although fire severity relates to some aspects of fire behavior, our data cannot address operational fire management concerns (e.g., firefighter safety, suppression effort needed, resistance to control) in postoutbreak forests. Fire behavior and firefighter safety are key aspects of postoutbreak forest management that require further study (20). Second, forest stands impacted by beetle outbreaks simultaneously can contain trees in various stages of outbreak (i.e., green attack, red, and gray), particularly in the earliest outbreak stages.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increases in dead and flammable fuels in postoutbreak forests can influence fire behavior (e.g., energy release and spread rate, see ref. 12 for a recent review) and present operational challenges for wildland firefighting (20,21). However, less is known about whether wildfires that burn postoutbreak forests are more ecologically severe and have important consequences for ecosystem function compared with forests unaffected by recent outbreaks, despite heightened concern among scientists and forest managers (12,13).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Recent mountain pine beetle outbreaks, wildfire severity, and postfire tree regeneration in the US Northern Rockies

Harvey

Donato

Turner

2014

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

120

123

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Widespread tree mortality caused by outbreaks of native bark beetles (Circulionidae: Scolytinae) in recent decades has raised concern among scientists and forest managers about whether beetle outbreaks fuel more ecologically severe forest fires and impair postfire resilience. To investigate this question, we collected extensive field data following multiple fires that burned subalpine forests in 2011 throughout the Northern Rocky Mountains across a spectrum of prefire beetle outbreak severity, primarily from mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae). We found that recent (2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010) beetle outbreak severity was unrelated to most field measures of subsequent fire severity, which was instead driven primarily by extreme burning conditions (weather) and topography. In the red stage (0-2 y following beetle outbreak), fire severity was largely unaffected by prefire outbreak severity with few effects detected only under extreme burning conditions. In the gray stage (3-10 y following beetle outbreak), fire severity was largely unaffected by prefire outbreak severity under moderate conditions, but several measures related to surface fire severity increased with outbreak severity under extreme conditions. Initial postfire tree regeneration of the primary beetle host tree [lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia)] was not directly affected by prefire outbreak severity but was instead driven by the presence of a canopy seedbank and by fire severity. Recent beetle outbreaks in subalpine forests affected few measures of wildfire severity and did not hinder the ability of lodgepole pine forests to regenerate after fire, suggesting that resilience in subalpine forests is not necessarily impaired by recent mountain pine beetle outbreaks. disturbance interactions | forest resilience | fire ecology | serotiny | conifer forest

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent mountain pine beetle outbreaks, wildfire severity, and postfire tree regeneration in the US Northern Rockies

Harvey

Donato

Turner

2014

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

120

123

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“…The changes in the characteristics of fire behaviour in MPB-attacked lodgepole pine stands over the course of an outbreak have previously been discussed in detail by Jenkins et al (2008Jenkins et al ( , 2012Jenkins et al ( , 2014 and Hicke et al (2012). Based on their conclusions, in addition to the endemic or pre-attack condition (Fig.…”

Section: Fire Behaviour Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Summary of the predicted hazard induced by severe tree morality from a mountain pine beetle outbreak in lodgepole pine forests, relative to the case of no tree mortality, for the three main elements of resistance to control, namely, fire behaviour characteristics (e.g., in relation to crowning and fireline intensity), firefighter safety considerations (e.g., in relation to snag conditions), and fire suppression operations (e.g., in relation to spotting and rate of fireline construction). Developed based on summaries by Hicke et al (2012) and Jenkins et al (2008Jenkins et al ( , 2012Jenkins et al ( , 2014. The long-term (50+ years) hazards are currently unknown, as indicated by a question mark.…”

Section: Fire Behaviour Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildfire’s resistance to control in mountain pine beetle-attacked lodgepole pine forests

Page

Alexander

Jenkins

2013

The Forestry Chronicle

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Concerns about the impacts of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins)-caused tree mortality on wildfire potential in lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. var. latifolia Engelm.) forests have to date largely focused on the potential for extreme fire behaviour, including the development and spread of crown fires. Given that the wildland fire environment in which fire managers and firefighters work is composed of many interacting physical and human factors, viewing crown fire behaviour as the only or even the most important outcome of the tree mortality associated with a mountain pine beetle outbreak is questionable. Proper assessment of wildfire potential entails a broader approach, which requires expanding the concept of wildfire resistance to control to include an analysis of all relevant factors and their interactions. In this paper we describe a holistic concept of analyzing the impacts of mountain pine beetle-caused tree mortality on wildfire potential in lodgepole pine forests on the basis of fire behaviour characteristics, fire suppression operations, and firefighter safety considerations within the framework of three recognizable stages of the approximate time since the initiation of an outbreak (i.e., "red" ~1 to 5 years, "gray" ~5 to 15 years, and post-epidemic ~15+ years).Key words: fire behaviour, fire hazard, fire suppression, firefighter safety, forest fuels, tree mortality. résuméLes inquiétudes rattachées aux effets de la mortalité des arbres causée par le dendroctone du pin (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) sur les feux de forêts au sein des peuplements de pin lodgepole (Pinus contorta Dougl. var. latifolia Engelm.) ont principalement porté à ce jour sur la possibilité d' observer un comportement extrême des feux, incluant le développement et la propagation des feux de cimes. Étant donné que l' environnement des feux de forêts dans lequel travaillent les gestionnaires et les pompiers forestiers est composé de plusieurs facteurs physiques et humains en interaction, considérer le comportement des feux de cimes comme étant la seule ou encore la plus importante conséquence de la mortalité des arbres associée à l' épidémie de dendroctone du pin peut être discutable. L' évaluation adéquate du potentiel d'inflammabilité implique une approche plus globale, ce qui nécessite d' élargir le concept de résistance des feux de forêt au contrôle pour y inclure une analyse de tous les facteurs pertinents et de leurs interactions. Dans cet article, nous décrivons un concept holistique d'analyse des impacts de la mortalité des arbres causée par le dendroctone du pin sur l'inflammabilité des peuplements de pin lodgepole en se basant sur les caractéristiques du comportement du feu, les opérations de suppression du feu et les aspects de sécurité des pompiers dans le cadre de trois niveaux identifiables de temps approximativement écoulé depuis le début d'une épidémie (c' est-à-dire, « rouge » ~1 à 5 ans, « gris » ~5 à 15 ans et post-épidémie ~15+ ans).Mots clés : comportement du feu, risque de fe...

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“…species-specific beetle-host combination, and the fire weather (see reviews in Jenkins et al 2008Jenkins et al , 2012Jenkins et al , 2014Hicke et al 2012). How bark beetle-caused mortality alters the severity of a subsequent fire as well as the type and magnitude of the interaction between fires following bark beetle-caused mortality remains poorly understood across the gradient of these controlling factors, especially in dry forest types such as those dominated by ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Untitled

2017

Fire Ecology

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Previous studies have suggested that bark beetles and fires can be interacting disturbances, whereby bark beetlecaused tree mortality can alter the risk and severity of subsequent wildland fires. However, there remains considerable uncertainty around the type and magnitude of the interaction between fires following bark beetle attacks, especially in drier forest types such as those dominated by ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson). We used a full factorial design across a range of factors thought to control bark beetle−fire interactions, including the temporal phase of the RESUMENEstudios previos han sugerido que los escarabajos de la corteza y el fuego pueden ser disturbios interactivos, por lo que la mortalidad de árboles causada por estos escarabajos puede alterar el riesgo y la severidad de incendios subsecuentes. Sin embargo, una considerable incertidumbre persiste en torno al tipo y magnitud de la interacción entre los incendios que siguen al ataque de insectos, especialmente en tipos de bosques secos como los dominados por pino ponderosa (Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson). Usamos un diseño factorial a través de un rango de factores que pensamos controlaban la interacción entre el escarabajo de la corteza y los incendios, incluyendo la fase temporal del estallido del insecto, el nivel Fire Ecology Volume 13, Issue 3, 2017 doi: 10.4996/fireecology.130300123 Sieg et al.: Bark Beetle-Fire Disturbance Interactions Page 2 outbreak, level of mortality, and wind speed. We used a three-dimensional physics-based model, HIGRAD/FIRE-TEC, to simulate fire behavior in fuel beds representative of 60 field plots across five national forests in northern Arizona, USA. The plots were dominated by ponderosa pine, and encompassed a gradient of bark beetlecaused mortality due to a mixture of both Ips and Dendroctonus species. Non-host species included two sprouting species, Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii Nutt.) and alligator juniper (Juniperus deppeana Steud.), as well as other junipers and pinyon pine (Pinus edulis Engelm.). The simulations explicitly accounted for the modifications of fuel mass and moisture distribution caused by bark beetle-caused mortality. We first analyzed the influence of the outbreak phase, level of mortality, and wind speed on the severity of a subsequent fire, expressed as a function of live and dead canopy fuel consumption. We then computed a metric based on canopy fuel loss to characterize whether bark beetles and fire are linked disturbances and, if they are, if the linkage is antagonistic (net bark beetle and fire severity being less than if the two disturbances occurred independently) or synergistic (greater combined effects than independent disturbances). Both the severity of a subsequent fire and whether bark beetles and fire are linked disturbances depended on the outbreak phase of the bark beetle mortality and attack severity, as well as the fire weather (here, wind). Greater fire severity and synergistic interactions were generally associated with the "red phase"...

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Fuels and fire behavior dynamics in bark beetle-attacked forests in Western North America and implications for fire management

Cited by 146 publications

References 80 publications

Recent mountain pine beetle outbreaks, wildfire severity, and postfire tree regeneration in the US Northern Rockies

Recent mountain pine beetle outbreaks, wildfire severity, and postfire tree regeneration in the US Northern Rockies

Wildfire’s resistance to control in mountain pine beetle-attacked lodgepole pine forests

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