Tamm Review: Reforestation for resilience in dry western U.S. forests

North, Malcolm P.; Stevens, Jens T.; Greene, David F.; Coppoletta, Michelle; Knapp, Eric E.; Latimer, Andrew M.; Restaino, Christina; Tompkins, Ryan E.; Welch, Kevin R.; York, R.A.; Young, Derek J. N.; Axelson, Jodi; Buckley, Thomas N.; Estes, Becky L.; Hager, Rachel Nia; Long, Jonathan W.; Meyer, Marc D.; Ostoja, Steven M.; Safford, Hugh D.; Shive, Kristen L.; Tubbesing, Carmen L.; Vice, Heather; Walsh, Dana; Werner, Chhaya M.; Wyrsch, Peter

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2018.09.007

Cited by 120 publications

(97 citation statements)

References 193 publications

(230 reference statements)

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“…Regeneration in dry forests in the Northwest (e.g., ponderosa pine) may be particularly sensitive to changing climate. Hotter and drier sites (e.g., on southwestern aspects) may be particularly at risk for regeneration failures (Nitschke et al 2012;Dodson and Root 2013;Donato et al 2016;Rother and Veblen 2017;Tepley et al 2017). High soil surface temperatures can also cause mortality (Minore and Laacke 1992).…”

Section: Forest Regenerationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In areas adjacent to green trees, natural regeneration may be adequate. In locations farther than 200 m from living trees, managers may want to supplement natural regeneration with planting where costs are not prohibitive because of remoteness or topography (North et al 2019). Where post-fire planting is desirable, managers may consider changes from current practices.…”

Section: Management Actionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changing wildfire, changing forests: the effects of climate change on fire regimes and vegetation in the Pacific Northwest, USA

2020

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Background: Wildfires in the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana, USA) have been immense in recent years, capturing the attention of resource managers, fire scientists, and the general public. This paper synthesizes understanding of the potential effects of changing climate and fire regimes on Pacific Northwest forests, including effects on disturbance and stress interactions, forest structure and composition, and post-fire ecological processes. We frame this information in a risk assessment context, and conclude with management implications and future research needs. Results: Large and severe fires in the Pacific Northwest are associated with warm and dry conditions, and such conditions will likely occur with increasing frequency in a warming climate. According to projections based on historical records, current trends, and simulation modeling, protracted warmer and drier conditions will drive lower fuel moisture and longer fire seasons in the future, likely increasing the frequency and extent of fires compared to the twentieth century. Interactions between fire and other disturbances, such as drought and insect outbreaks, are likely to be the primary drivers of ecosystem change in a warming climate. Reburns are also likely to occur more frequently with warming and drought, with potential effects on tree regeneration and species composition. Hotter, drier sites may be particularly at risk for regeneration failures. Conclusion: Resource managers will likely be unable to affect the total area burned by fire, as this trend is driven strongly by climate. However, fuel treatments, when implemented in a spatially strategic manner, can help to decrease fire intensity and severity and improve forest resilience to fire, insects, and drought. Where fuel treatments are less effective (wetter, high-elevation, and coastal forests), managers may consider implementing fuel breaks around high-value resources. When and where post-fire planting is an option, planting different genetic stock than has been used in the past may increase seedling survival. Planting seedlings on cooler, wetter microsites may also help to increase survival. In the driest topographic locations, managers may need to consider where they will try to forestall change and where they will allow conversions to vegetation other than what is currently dominant.

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Section: Forest Regenerationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Management Actionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changing wildfire, changing forests: the effects of climate change on fire regimes and vegetation in the Pacific Northwest, USA

2020

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“…These elements would be the object of conservation or restoration focus, for which resilience consists of maintaining a range of values within the estimated envelope of natural variability (Keane et al, 2018). Managing for resilience itself, instead of specified ecosystem states, exemplifies the novelty of this approach and the importance of a sound theory of ecological resilience (Benson and Garmestani, 2011;Bowker et al, 2013;North et al, 2019).…”

Section: Scaled Resilience and Ecosystem Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scaling Ecological Resilience

2019

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Rapid climate change and altered disturbance regimes represent increasing stressors to the stability of existing ecosystems. Resilience is a widely used framework for post-disturbance response, but resilient responses are emergent properties resulting from component processes of persistence, recovery, and reorganization, with different mechanisms at work in each mode. We present a model of scaled resilience, which allows resilience to be decomposed across scales of space, time, and levels of biological organization. Using case examples of post-fire resilience in dry conifer forests of interior western North America, we illustrate the increased clarity gained by separating scale-dependent mechanisms of persistence, recovery, and reorganization. We conclude by describing how the scaled resilience framework can be applied in land and fire management by distinguishing relevant management actions before, during, and after wildfire.

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“…Currently, reforestation is one of the most common management responses to large severe fires in the western U.S. (North et al. ), and the effectiveness of postfire planting can vary widely (e.g., 0–70% survival in fires throughout Arizona and New Mexico; Ouzts et al. ).…”

Section: Adaptation and Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limitations to recovery following wildfire in dry forests of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, USA

Rodman

Veblen

Chapman

et al. 2019

Ecological Applications

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Climate warming is contributing to increases in wildfire activity throughout the western United States, leading to potentially long‐lasting shifts in vegetation. The response of forest ecosystems to wildfire is thus a crucial indicator of future vegetation trajectories, and these responses are contingent upon factors such as seed availability, interannual climate variability, average climate, and other components of the physical environment. To better understand variation in resilience to wildfire across vulnerable dry forests, we surveyed conifer seedling densities in 15 recent (1988–2010) wildfires and characterized temporal variation in seed cone production and seedling establishment. We then predicted postfire seedling densities at a 30‐m resolution within each fire perimeter using downscaled climate data, monthly water balance models, and maps of surviving forest cover. Widespread ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) seed cone production occurred at least twice following each fire surveyed, and pulses of conifer seedling establishment coincided with years of above‐average moisture availability. Ponderosa pine and Douglas‐fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) seedling densities were higher on more mesic sites and adjacent to surviving trees, though there were also important interspecific differences, likely attributable to drought and shade tolerance. We estimated that postfire seedling densities in 42% (for ponderosa pine) and 69% (for Douglas‐fir) of the total burned area were below the lowest reported historical tree densities in these forests. Spatial models demonstrated that an absence of mature conifers (particularly in the interior of large, high‐severity patches) limited seedling densities in many areas, but 30‐yr average actual evapotranspiration and climatic water deficit limited densities on marginal sites. A better understanding of the limitations to postfire forest recovery will refine models of vegetation dynamics and will help to improve strategies of adaptation to a warming climate and shifting fire activity.

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Tamm Review: Reforestation for resilience in dry western U.S. forests

Cited by 120 publications

References 193 publications

Changing wildfire, changing forests: the effects of climate change on fire regimes and vegetation in the Pacific Northwest, USA

Changing wildfire, changing forests: the effects of climate change on fire regimes and vegetation in the Pacific Northwest, USA

Scaling Ecological Resilience

Limitations to recovery following wildfire in dry forests of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, USA

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