Regional Application of Historical Ecology at Ecologically Defined Scales: Forest Ecosystems in the Colorado Front Range

Effects of tree cutting and fire on understory vegetation in mixed conifer forests

“…Seasonality of fire varied from spring/summer (Fulé et al, 2003) to predominately late summer or fall (Taylor, 2004). In addition to fire, periodic windthrow, insect/disease outbreaks, and extreme climatic events created spatial and temporal heterogeneity via patch creation from individual tree death to larger areas hectares in size (Veblen et al, 2012). These disturbances likely created different biophysical filters to understory vegetation, both within stands and landscapes, and through time on the same site (Keith et al, 2010;Lydersen et al, 2013).…”

Principles and practices for the restoration of ponderosa pine and dry mixed-conifer forests of the Colorado Front Range

“…Information specific to the Front Range-Much of the information guiding restoration on the Front Range comes from other areas of the western United States where dry coniferous forests occur, such as the Southwest (Reynolds et al 2013), the Sierra Nevada (North et al 2009), the Northern Rockies (Crist et al 2009), and the Pacific Northwest (Franklin et al 2013;Stine et al 2014). Although information from other parts of the range of dry forest types is useful and important, most scientists and managers recognize the need for place-based restoration that incorporates local ecology and natural processes (Brown et al 2004;Schoennagel et al 2004;Veblen 2003;Veblen et al 2012) (panel 1). As described by Kaufmann et al (2005: p. 483), "relatively subtle differences in ponderosa pine stand development exist across the geographic range of the species, but in combination with physical site characteristics and weather, significant contrasts exist in fire behavior patterns and assemblages of stands into a landscape structure.…”

“…• The highly dissected topography of the Front Range creates variability in productivity and fuel accumulation. This variability in fuels and topography, in turn, tends to promote a mixed-severity fire regime, with areas of both low-severity and moderate-to high-severity fire (Baker et al 2007;Brown et al 1999;Kaufmann et al 2006;Noss et al 2006;Romme et al 2003b;Schoennagel et al 2004;Sherriff et al 2014;Veblen et al 2012;Williams and Baker 2012b). This mixed-severity fire regime, where patches of crown fire and tree mortality were not uncommon historically, is one of the key distinctions between the Front Range and other areas such as the Southwest, and should be an emphasis of restoration work.…”

“…The concept of HRV has long provided an important basis for restoration work and should be considered a first principle for restoration of Front Range ponderosa pine and dry mixed-conifer forests. The HRV is the range of conditions and processes that characterized ecological systems historically; it describes how ecological systems operated-how they developed over space and time and how they responded to natural disturbances-before the introduction of new disturbance phenomena that occurred with Euro-American settlement (Aplet and Keeton 1999;Egan and Howell 2001;Harrod et al 1999;Moore et al 1999;Morgan et al 1994;Romme et al 2012;Veblen et al 2012). Central to the concept of HRV is the notion that ecological systems are dynamic-not static-and are characterized by a complex range of conditions that can shift in time and space but are fundamentally self-sustaining (Hayward et al 2012;Keane et al 2009;Landres et al 1999).…”

Social perspectives on the use of reference conditions in restoration of fire‐adapted forest landscapes

“…Several of the stakeholder‐identified limitations highlighted in our study lie at the root of long‐standing debates on whether and how past conditions should inform the objectives of restoration, or of land management more generally (Landres et al ; Moore et al ; Swetnam et al ; Higgs et al ). Temporal change is inherent in ecosystems and, accordingly, reference conditions should be framed in the context of spatiotemporal variability (Veblen et al ). Stakeholders questioned the relevance of historical references in systems that exhibit nonequilibrium dynamics or that have transitioned to alternative states.…”