Landscape-Level Dynamics of Grassland-Forest Transitions in British Columbia

Bai, Yuguang; Broersma, Klaas; Thompson, Donald; Ross, T.J.

doi:10.2307/4003956

Cited by 28 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…A combination of survival strategies, fire exclusion, and high-intensity grazing has created environmental conditions conducive for shrub expansion in mesic grasslands (Bai et al, 2004;Bragg and Hulbert, 1976;Briggs et al, 2007;Burkinshaw and Bork, 2009). Heisler et al (2004) determined that significant resprouting of C. drummondii occurred after fire.…”

Section: Patterns and Processes Of Expansionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns and processes of global shrub expansion

Naito

Cairns

2011

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

194

136

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Shrub expansion is a global phenomenon that is occurring on savannas, rangelands, and grasslands. In addition, this is an increasingly documented occurrence in the Arctic. Numerous recent studies have strived to pinpoint the drivers of this phenomenon, quantify the changes, and understand their implications for regional and global land use, disturbance regimes, and nutrient cycling. Inquiry into these topics has been facilitated by recent technological developments in satellite remote sensing, aerial photograph analysis, and computer simulation modeling. We provide a new review that accounts for more recent studies in these regions, Arctic shrub expansion, and technological and analytical developments. This four-part discussion focuses on observed patterns of shrub expansion in three rangeland types (desert grasslands, mesic grasslands, savannas) and the Arctic tundra, the primary causes of this expansion, critical comparisons and contrasts between these land types, and recommendations for future avenues of research. These new avenues can inform the development of future land management policies, as well as ongoing investigations to understand and mitigate the effects of climate change.

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Section: Patterns and Processes Of Expansionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns and processes of global shrub expansion

Naito

Cairns

2011

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

194

136

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“…Therefore, the distribution and patterns of vegetation growth, along with their affecting factors in these areas, are important and have been studied by many researchers (e.g. Oliver and Webster 1986, Weiser et al 1986, Stephenson 1990, Turner et al 1992, Henebry 1993, Endress and Chinea 2001, Bai et al 2004.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantification of spatial distribution of vegetation in the Qilian Mountain area with MODIS NDVI

Jin

Wan

Zhang

et al. 2009

International Journal of Remote Sensing

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The spatial distribution of vegetation in the Qilian Mountain area was quantified with remote sensing data. The MODIS NDVI values for June, July, August and September are the best indicators for the vegetation growth during a year in this area and thus were used in this study. The results obtained by analysing NDVI data for seven years from 2000 to 2006 clearly indicated that elevation and aspect, as a proxy for precipitation and temperature, are two very important factors for the vertical distribution of vegetation in Qilian Mountain area. In the Qilian Mountain area the vegetation growth is optimal between the elevations of 3200 m and 3600 m, with NDVI values larger than 0.50 and a peak value of .0.56 around 3400 m. It is the combination of plentiful precipitation and suitable land surface temperature that provides less soil moisture stress and thus suitable conditions for vegetation growth in this range of elevations. The optimal vegetation growth is found in the shady slope between NW340 to NE70 with the largest NDVI value (.0.56) within the elevation range of 3200 m and 3600 m. The methodology developed in this study should be useful for similar ecological studies on vegetation distribution.

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“…, Bai et al. ). In the absence of twentieth‐century fires, however, modern lower montane forests are denser and the encroachment of conifers has decreased the grassland area.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disturbance–climate relationships between wildfire and western spruce budworm in interior British Columbia

2018

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Abstract. Defoliation by the native western spruce budworm (Choristoneura freemani Razowski; WSB) and wildfires are natural disturbances affecting the structure and function of montane forests in British Columbia, Canada. Limited research describes the climate conditions associated with WSB outbreaks and historical fire activity in these forests, and the spatial stability of these relationships across landscapes. Site-specific and regional characterizations of these relationships are required to establish the historical baselines necessary to document disturbance-climate relationships within dry conifer forests. We compiled site-level and regionalized tree-ring chronologies of fire (AD 1600-2013) and WSB (AD 1600-2009) outbreaks for both lower montane forests adjacent to expansive grasslands and middle montane forests (regionalized grassland and non-grassland chronologies). At site and regional scales, the relation between fire years, outbreaks of WSB, reconstructed values of the Palmer Drought Severity Index, and annual precipitation were examined using superposed epoch and bivariate event analyses. Regional disturbance-climate relationships were used to evaluate the influence of grassland proximity on these relationships and the disturbance history characteristics. The findings show that fires affecting grassland proximal sites in lower montane forests were historically more frequent than fires occurring in middle montane forests and were related to warm, dry conditions in the fire year and cool, wet conditions in the year(s) preceding the fire. These results indicate the climate conditions associated with both fine fuel growth and drying are key determinants for fire activity in lower montane forests. The initiation of WSB outbreaks was significantly related to drought, and this relationship was enhanced at lower montane sites. We also examined the interrelationships between fire years and WSB outbreaks, but no associations were discerned. Considering the recent escalation of widespread forest fire activity in the Pacific Northwest of North America and the potential for timber losses associated with WSB defoliation, the findings provide information important to forest scientists charged with promoting forest health and resilience in the dry montane forests of interior British Columbia.

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Landscape-Level Dynamics of Grassland-Forest Transitions in British Columbia

Cited by 28 publications

References 12 publications

Patterns and processes of global shrub expansion

Patterns and processes of global shrub expansion

Quantification of spatial distribution of vegetation in the Qilian Mountain area with MODIS NDVI

Disturbance–climate relationships between wildfire and western spruce budworm in interior British Columbia

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