Science synthesis to support socioecological resilience in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range

Long, Jonathan W.; Quinn‐Davidson, Lenya; Skinner, Carl N.

doi:10.2737/psw-gtr-247

Cited by 38 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 523 publications

(433 reference statements)

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“…For example, historically it was common for some MSForest settings to remain for a time in alternate woodland, shrubland, or grassland states due to relatively high fire frequency, coupled with occasional high-severity fire (Beisner et al, 2003;Odion et al, 2010). But with a warming climate creating conditions for more high-severity fire (Westerling et al, 2003;Lenihan et al, 2006), and the occurrence of larger and more frequent high-severity burned areas (Miller et al, , 2012Harris and Taylor, 2015), there is now a greater potential for severely burned patches to be converted to these alternative stable states (Lauvaux et al, 2016;Long et al, 2014a;Harris and Taylor, 2015;Perry et al, 2011;Savage and Mast, 2005). Typically this occurs where successive fires occur over the same area, especially when the initial fire burns with high severity effects and causes a transition to a grass or shrub-dominated community (van Wagtendonk et al, 2012) …”

Section: Re-creating and Protecting Meso-scale Heterogeneitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To be effective though, such areas should retain the potential for the full suite of natural recovery processes, including natural reseeding by coniferous and other understory species that are naturally adapted to the site and fire regime. Where this is not true (as in cases of high-severity reburn potential, very large and homogeneous high-severity burn patch sizes, and where desirable seed sources are well beyond probable dispersal distances), salvage and/or planting operations may be reasonable options, and could be planned and conducted so as to reduce disruption of early successional diversity (Lindenmayer et al, 2004;Noss et al, 2006;Long et al, 2014a). Where they are appropriate, salvage operations should focus on the primary fuels that are the reburn concern, i.e., the smaller understory shade-tolerant trees that comprised the ingrowth over the period of fire exclusion (Peterson et al, 2015).…”

Section: Concerns With Overabundant Early Successional Forest Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Where they are appropriate, salvage operations should focus on the primary fuels that are the reburn concern, i.e., the smaller understory shade-tolerant trees that comprised the ingrowth over the period of fire exclusion (Peterson et al, 2015). Salvaging large trees provides a large economic benefit but has no known ecological benefit, and significant ecological costs (Donato et al, 2013;Lindenmayer et al, 2004;Noss et al, 2006;Long et al, 2014a). One recent study that focused on retaining the basal area of the largest trees was implemented in the severely burned 2003 Cone Fire area (Ritchie et al, 2007).…”

Section: Concerns With Overabundant Early Successional Forest Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tamm Review: Management of mixed-severity fire regime forests in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California

Hessburg

Spies

Perry

et al. 2016

Forest Ecology and Management

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168

183

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a b s t r a c tIncreasingly, objectives for forests with moderate-or mixed-severity fire regimes are to restore successionally diverse landscapes that are resistant and resilient to current and future stressors. Maintaining native species and characteristic processes requires this successional diversity, but methods to achieve it are poorly explained in the literature. In the Inland Pacific US, large, old, early seral trees were a key historical feature of many young and old forest successional patches, especially where fires frequently occurred. Large, old trees are naturally fire-tolerant, but today are often threatened by dense understory cohorts that create fuel ladders that alter likely post-fire successional pathways. Reducing these understories can contribute to resistance by creating conditions where canopy trees will survive disturbances and climatic stressors; these survivors are important seed sources, soil protectors, and critical habitat elements. Historical timber harvesting has skewed tree size and age class distributions, created hard edges, and altered native patch sizes. Manipulating these altered forests to promote development of larger patches of older, larger, and more widely-spaced trees with diverse understories will increase landscape resistance to severe fires, and enhance wildlife habitat for underrepresented conditions.Closed-canopy, multi-layered patches that develop in hot, dry summer environments are vulnerable to droughts, and they increase landscape vulnerability to insect outbreaks and severe wildfires. These same patches provide habitat for species such as the northern spotted owl, which has benefited from increased habitat area. Regional and local planning will be critical for gauging risks, evaluating trade-offs, and restoring dynamics that can support these and other species. The goal will be to manage for heterogeneous landscapes that include variably-sized patches of (1) young, middle-aged, and old, closedcanopy forests growing in upper montane, northerly aspect, and valley bottom settings, (2) a similar diversity of open-canopy, fire-tolerant patches growing on ridgetops, southerly aspects, and lower montane settings, and (3) significant montane chaparral and grassland areas. Tools to achieve this goal http://dx

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Section: Re-creating and Protecting Meso-scale Heterogeneitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Concerns With Overabundant Early Successional Forest Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Concerns With Overabundant Early Successional Forest Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Tamm Review: Management of mixed-severity fire regime forests in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California

Hessburg

Spies

Perry

et al. 2016

Forest Ecology and Management

Self Cite

168

183

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…However, drawing from this study's data and recent data on northern California fishers (Gabriel et al 2015), the AR concern within NSO habitat is clearly warranted. The occurrence of AR in both northern and California Spotted Owl habitats has been labeled as an ecological stressor and a significant emerging threat to both species (MRC 2004, Long et al 2014). …”

Section: Exposure To Armentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of ARs at these sites may adversely affect NSOs and recently, in their final status review report to the California Fish and Game Commission regarding the conservation status and threats to NSO, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife stated that toxicants such as ARs from marijuana cultivation sites likely pose "a serious and widespread threat to northern Spotted Owls" (Battistone and Clipperton 2016:178;Long et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exposure to rodenticides in Northern Spotted and Barred Owls on remote forest lands in northwestern California: evidence of food web contamination

Gabriel¹,

Diller²,

Dumbacher³

et al. 2018

ACE

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ABSTRACT. The documentation of anticoagulant rodenticides (AR) in nontarget species has centered around wildlife that inhabit urban or agricultural settings. However, recent studies in California have shown that AR use in remote forest settings has escalated and has exposed and killed forest carnivores. Anticoagulant rodenticides have been documented as physiological stressors for avian species. Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) critical and occupied habitat overlaps the areas where these studies occurred, yet no data were previously available to demonstrate whether this species was similarly affected. We investigated whether avian predators are also exposed to these specific pesticides and whether Barred Owls (Strix varia) may be a surrogate to indicate exposure rates in Northern Spotted Owls. We documented that 70% of Northern Spotted Owls and 40% of Barred Owls were exposed to one or more anticoagulant rodenticides. None of the rodent prey species sampled within the study area were positive for ARs. There were no spatial clusters for either low or high rates of exposure, though we detected low temporal trend early on throughout the study area. We hypothesize a recent change in land-use toward marijuana cultivation may have led to the increased use of AR in this area. This study demonstrates environmental contamination within occupied Northern Spotted Owl habitat and that Barred Owls can be used as adequate surrogates for detecting these pollutants in a rare species such as the Northern Spotted Owl. Furthermore, additional studies should focus on whether these pesticides are also affecting prey availability for these forest avian species.Exposition aux rodenticides chez les Chouettes tachetée du Nord et rayée dans les terres forestières éloignées du nord-ouest de la Californie : indice de contamination du réseau alimentaire RÉSUMÉ. Les cas d'exposition à des rodenticides anticoagulants (RA) chez les espèces non ciblées ont surtout été documentés pour la faune habitant les milieux urbains ou agricoles. Toutefois, de récentes études en Californie ont montré que l'utilisation de RA dans les environnements forestiers éloignés a grimpé, et des carnivores forestiers y ont été exposés et en sont morts. On a aussi documenté que les RA sont des facteurs de stress physiologique pour les espèces aviaires. L'habitat critique occupé par la Chouette tachetée du Nord (Strix occidentalis caurina) chevauche les endroits où ces études ont eu lieu, mais aucune donnée n'était auparavant disponible pour déterminer si cette espèce était aussi touchée. Nous avons examiné la possibilité que les prédateurs aviaires soient aussi exposés à ces pesticides spécifiques, et si les Chouettes rayées (Strix varia) pouvaient servir d'indicateur pour les taux d'exposition des Chouettes tachetées du Nord. Nous avons quantifié que 70 % des Chouettes tachetées du Nord et 40 % des Chouettes rayées étaient exposées à au moins un RA. Aucune des espèces proies de rongeurs échantillonnées dans notre aire d'étude ne se sont révélées posit...

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Mixed‐conifer forest reference conditions for privately owned timberland in the southern Cascade Range

Collins

Bernal

York

et al. 2021

Ecological Applications

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The overwhelming majority of information on historical forest conditions in western North America comes from public lands, which may provide an incomplete description of historical landscapes. In this study we made use of an archive containing extensive timber survey data collected in the early 1920s from privately owned forestland. These data covered over 50,000 ha and effectively represent a 19% sample of the entire area. The historical forest conditions reconstructed from these data fit the classic model of frequent‐fire forests: large trees, low density, and pine‐dominated. However, unlike other large‐scale forest reconstructions, our study area exhibited relatively low overall variability in forest structure and composition across the historical landscape. Despite having low variability, our analyses revealed evidence of biophysical controls on tree density and pine fraction. Annual climatic variables most strongly explained the range in historical tree densities, whereas historical pine fraction was explained by a combination of topographic and climatic variables. Contemporary forest inventory data collected from both public and private lands within the same general area, albeit not a direct remeasurement, revealed substantial increases in tree density and greatly reduced pine fractions relative to historical conditions. Contemporary forests exhibited a far greater range in these conditions than what existed historically. These findings suggest that private forestland managed with multiaged silviculture may be similar to public forestland with respect to departure in forest structure and compositions from that of historical forests. However, there may be differences between management objectives that favor timber production, more typical on private lands, vs. those that favor restoration, increasingly supported on public lands.

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Science synthesis to support socioecological resilience in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range

Cited by 38 publications

References 523 publications

Tamm Review: Management of mixed-severity fire regime forests in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California

Tamm Review: Management of mixed-severity fire regime forests in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California

Exposure to rodenticides in Northern Spotted and Barred Owls on remote forest lands in northwestern California: evidence of food web contamination

Mixed‐conifer forest reference conditions for privately owned timberland in the southern Cascade Range

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