Open forest ecosystems: An excluded state

Hanberry, Brice B.; Bragg, Don C.; Alexander, Heather D.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118256

Cited by 50 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 111 publications

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“…Pine‐dominated (mostly P. rigida , P. resinosa , and P. pungens ) sites had an average MFI of 5.9 while mixed‐oak (mostly Q. alba , Q. montana , Q. velutina , and Q. rubra ) sites had a slightly longer MFI of 7.4 yr (based on studies presented in Lafon et al 2017). These frequent historical fire return interval estimates also coincide with evidence from historical stand data indicating that many eastern U.S. forests within the American chestnut range were once much more open (Hanberry and Nowacki 2016, Hanberry et al 2020 b ). Still, the absence of direct proof is not the proof of absence of fire in American chestnut forests.…”

Section: Evidence Of Fire In American Chestnut Forestssupporting

confidence: 74%

“…The absence of fire, along with other land management impacts, has resulted in substantial changes to eastern North American forest composition and structure over the last century (McEwan et al 2011, Hanberry et al 2020 b ). In many instances, the exclusion of fire has resulted in increased tree density and greater representation of more shade‐tolerant, mesic species.…”

Section: Implications On the Loss Of American Chestnut And Firementioning

confidence: 99%

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Reconsidering the fire ecology of the iconic American chestnut

et al. 2020

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The iconic American chestnut (Castanea dentata) once spanned a large portion of eastern North America before its functional extinction in the early 20th century due primarily to non-native fungal pathogens. The pronounced loss of this species likely resulted in an abrupt alteration of many ecological processes, including fire. The potential to resurrect this species through resistance breeding or other methods holds promise, but more information on the fire ecology of American chestnut may provide helpful information to assist restoration. Here we summarize the existing direct and indirect research on the fire history and fire ecology within the former range of American chestnut. We found multiple lines of evidence to suggest fire was frequent throughout much of its historical range. A broadscale analysis of historical fire frequency revealed that 88% of the American chestnut range had a mean fire return interval of 20 yr or less, corresponding to finer-scale fire history and forest structure studies. In much of the historical range of American chestnut, the stand structure was much more open, fire scar studies of associated species were very frequent (mean fire return interval ranged between 1.9 and 19.8 yr), and, in many cases, charcoal abundance and American chestnut pollen were positively related. This evidence coupled with American chestnut's suite of traits associated with tolerance of frequent fire, such as highly flammable litter, tall stature, rapid growth, and resprouting ability, reinforce concepts that fire was historically an important component of many woodlands and forests containing American chestnut. While these lines of evidence are strongly suggestive, we provide potential areas of further inquiry to expand and refine our understanding of American chestnut fire ecology.

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Section: Evidence Of Fire In American Chestnut Forestssupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Implications On the Loss Of American Chestnut And Firementioning

confidence: 99%

Reconsidering the fire ecology of the iconic American chestnut

et al. 2020

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“…Similar to changes in forest structure documented across the eastern United States and Great Lakes Region, the loss of frequent surface fire has led to reduced regeneration opportunities for red pine, increased competition from fire‐intolerant species, and increased stand density over the past century (Hanberry et al. 2012, 2020, Young et al. 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Human augmentation of historical red pine fire regimes in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

et al. 2021

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The Border Lakes Region of Minnesota and Ontario has long been viewed as a firedependent ecosystem. High-severity fire in the region's near-boreal forests has been a focus of ecological research and public fascination. However, the surface fire history within this transnational wilderness landscape has received more limited attention. We used an interdisciplinary, dendroecological approach to characterize the surface fire history of the region, assess potential drivers of historical surface fires, and document the ecological legacies of frequent fires within the red pine forests of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) in northern Minnesota. We used tree-ring and fire atlas data to reconstruct multi-century surface fire records for 101 sites and document age structure and composition at 32 sites across the BWCAW. Stratification of these sites relative to their proximity to a primary travel and trade corridor used first by Indigenous groups and later by Euro-American fur traders through the late 1800s provided strong evidence of human augmentation of fires. The patterns of fire activity, fire-climate relationships, and forest development indicate that traditional landuse by Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe) increased rates of local surface fire and played an important role in shaping the landscape. The decline of traditional subsistence practices by the Border Lakes Anishinaabeg coincided with a sharp decline in surface fires and a period of abundant tree establishment. In the absence of repeat surface fires, many red pine sites have shifted in composition, increased in stem density, and grown vulnerable to forest-type conversion through future high-severity fire. These results highlight the need for active fire reintroduction to red pine forests of the Great Lakes Region and underscore the importance of collaboration and guidance from Indigenous Knowledge Keepers in this process. A blended knowledge approach to fire restoration that directly engages with Indigenous perspectives and cultural practices can perpetuate the distinctive character of the largest remaining tracts of long-lived pine forest in the Great Lakes Region. Carefully developed fire restoration practices would enhance the visitor use experience within one of the most frequently visited wilderness areas in the United States while re-engaging directly with Indigenous knowledge and traditional cultural practices.

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“…Other old growth and naturally less enduring, short-lived forests are filtered by different disturbance types and severity. Frequent surface fire is an understory disturbance that is critical for maintaining a bilayer of fire-tolerant trees and herbaceous vegetation in tropical and temperate savannas and woodlands, but because overstory disturbance is rare, these forests are also old growth with long-lived tree species [10]. In contrast, severe fire removes both understory and overstory trees every 50 to 150 years in boreal forests, favoring auto-replacement by the pre-fire tree species, which have traits for rapid post-fire recovery [11,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The effects of disturbance and disturbance change may receive less consideration than the effects of climate and climate change; nonetheless, disturbance change has already caused widespread declines in historical forests. Currently, widespread overstory disturbance, with minimal understory disturbance, for forest products creates a cycle of short-term closed forests, which tend to be non-analogous in composition and structure compared to historical forests [10]. During Euro-American settlement and particularly between 1850 and 1920, the combination of increased population and improved tools of industrialization led to forest removal for different forest products and land uses, primarily agriculture, throughout the Eastern United States.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest Disturbance Types and Current Analogs for Historical Disturbance-Independent Forests

Hanberry

2021

Land

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Forest classifications by disturbance permit designation of multiple types of both old growth forests and shorter-lived forests, which auto-replace under severe disturbance, and also identification of loss of the disturbance type and associated forest. Historically, fire and flooding disturbance regimes, or conversely, infrequent disturbance, produced unique forests such as disturbance-independent forests of American beech (Fagus grandifolia), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), and sugar maple (Acer saccharum) in the Eastern United States. However, disturbance has changed to primarily frequent mechanical overstory disturbance, resulting in novel forests. To demonstrate the transition to no-analog forests after disturbance change, I compared historical tree surveys (ca. 1837 to 1857) to current surveys in the Northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. To establish widespread disturbance change effects, I also located where beech and hemlock are currently most abundant throughout the Eastern US compared to historical distribution of beech–hemlock forests. In the Northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan, beech and hemlock historically were about 30% of all trees, but currently, beech and hemlock are 2% of all trees. Red maple (Acer rubrum) increased from 1% to 11% of all trees and aspen (Populus) increased from 2% to 13% of all trees. The squared-chord difference between historical and current surveys was 0.40, or dissimilar forests. Areas with ≥20% beech and hemlock or ≥15% of either species decreased from about 52 million to 6 million hectares, with current distribution restricted to the Northeastern US. Current forests are dissimilar to historical forests, and this transition appears to be driven by disturbance regimes without historical analogs. Disturbance change may provide perspective in forest management for climate change.

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Open forest ecosystems: An excluded state

Cited by 50 publications

References 111 publications

Reconsidering the fire ecology of the iconic American chestnut

Reconsidering the fire ecology of the iconic American chestnut

Human augmentation of historical red pine fire regimes in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Forest Disturbance Types and Current Analogs for Historical Disturbance-Independent Forests

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