Historical and Modern Disturbance Regimes, Stand Structures, and Landscape Dynamics in Piñon–Juniper Vegetation of the Western United States

Romme, William H.; Allen, Craig D.; Bailey, John D.; Baker, William L.; Bestelmeyer, Brandon T.; Brown, Peter M.; Eisenhart, Karen S.; Floyd, M. Lisa; Huffman, David W.; Jacobs, Brian F.; Miller, Richard F.; Muldavin, Esteban; Swetnam, Thomas W.; Tausch, Robin J.; Weisberg, Peter J.

doi:10.2111/08-188r1.1

Cited by 314 publications

(400 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…Engelmann spruce (P. engelmannii) occurs at higher elevations. The historical fire regime across these forest and woodland types was composed of a wide range of frequencies and severities that varied with fuels and climate [45,46]. Following the three older fires, the elevational gradient of vegetation communities became more of a patchwork of forested and non-forested vegetation types.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing Spatial Neighborhoods of Refugia Following Large Fires in Northern New Mexico USA

Haire¹,

Miller

2017

Land

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Abstract:The spatial patterns resulting from large fires include refugial habitats that support surviving legacies and promote ecosystem recovery. To better understand the diverse ecological functions of refugia on burn mosaics, we used remotely sensed data to quantify neighborhood patterns of areas relatively unchanged following the 2011 Las Conchas fire. Spatial patterns of refugia measured within 10-ha moving windows varied across a gradient from areas of high density, clustered in space, to sparsely populated neighborhoods that occurred in the background matrix. The scaling of these patterns was related to the underlying structure of topography measured by slope, aspect and potential soil wetness, and spatially varying climate. Using a nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis of species cover data collected post-Las Conchas, we found that trees and forest associates were present across the refugial gradient, but communities also exhibited a range of species compositions and potential functions. Spatial patterns of refugia quantified for three previous burns (La Mesa 1977, Dome 1996, Cerro Grande 2000 were dynamic between fire events, but most refugia persisted through at least two fires. Efforts to maintain burn heterogeneity and its ecological functions can begin with identifying where refugia are likely to occur, using terrain-based microclimate models, burn severity models and available field data.

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing Spatial Neighborhoods of Refugia Following Large Fires in Northern New Mexico USA

Haire¹,

Miller

2017

Land

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“…woodlands cover approximately 40,000,000 ha of the western USA (Romme et al 2009). Recent, climate-related impacts to piñon-juniper woodlands include dramatic, large-scale mortality of piñon pines (Allen-Reid et al 2008, Breshears et al 2005), significant reductions in canopy cover (Clifford et al 2011), and declines in piñon cone production (Redmond et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Home range- and colony-scale habitat models for Pinyon Jays in piñon-juniper woodlands of New Mexico, USA

Johnson¹,

Neville²,

Smith³

et al. 2016

ACE

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ABSTRACT. Despite the Pinyon Jay's (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) importance as a piñon tree seed disperser and its long-term population declines, piñon-juniper habitat use by Pinyon Jays has been little studied. We created home range-and colony-scale habitat suitability models for Pinyon Jays in piñon-juniper woodlands at Kirtland Air Force Base and White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, USA. Home range-scale models included mainly Juniper Woodland and Savanna, Piñon-Juniper, and Piñon Woodland vegetation types. Although home range-scale models at the two study sites contained similar vegetation types, we found differences between colonyscale models in habitat use and within-site diversity. Because of topographic and vegetation differences, colony-scale modeling incorporated fewer vegetation types and topographic classes for the White Sands Missile Range Study site than at Kirtland Air Force Base. Predictive colony-scale models overlapped validation colonies by 75.9% and 100% at the two study sites, indicating good model predictability. The large sizes of Pinyon Jay home ranges make year-round, home range-scale habitat management challenging. Habitat conservation focused at more limited spatial, i.e., colony, and temporal scales, revealed by multiscale modeling, could be more feasible and potentially more effective than management at the larger home range scale.

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“…Woodland development varies across landscapes (Johnson and Miller 2006) and has been categorised into three phases : in Phase 1 woodlands, shrubs and herbaceous species are the dominant vegetation with few trees present; in Phase 2 woodlands, trees co-dominate with shrubs and herbaceous plants; and in Phase 3 woodlands, trees are dominant and shrubs and herbaceous layers are reduced. The transition from Phase 2 to Phase 3 woodlands causes a shift from shrub and herbaceous fuels to a predominance of tree canopy fuels, which influences fire behaviour and severity (Tausch 1999;Dicus et al 2009;Romme et al 2009). The increase in canopy fuels generates fires of greater severity than under the historic regime, and results in post-fire weed dominance because of high mortality of herbaceous perennials (Tausch 1999;Bates et al 2006Bates et al , 2011Condon et al 2011).…”

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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Historical and Modern Disturbance Regimes, Stand Structures, and Landscape Dynamics in Piñon–Juniper Vegetation of the Western United States

Cited by 314 publications

References 76 publications

Characterizing Spatial Neighborhoods of Refugia Following Large Fires in Northern New Mexico USA

Characterizing Spatial Neighborhoods of Refugia Following Large Fires in Northern New Mexico USA

Home range- and colony-scale habitat models for Pinyon Jays in piñon-juniper woodlands of New Mexico, USA

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

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