The Contemporary Fire Regime of the Central Appalachian Mountains and its Relation to Climate

Abstract

This paper uses records of wildland fire to investigate the contemporary fire regime on federal lands in the central Appalachian Mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. During the study period , 1557 anthropogenic fires and 344 natural fires occurred on these lands. Most were small, low-intensity burns. However, fires of moderate to high intensity also occurred, and because of their larger sizes they were responsible for most of the area burned. Fire size also differed between natural and anthropogenic fires (median size 1.2 ha vs. 0.4 ha). A few of the anthropogenic fires were quite large, however (up to 6484 ha), whereas the largest natural fire measured only 1188 ha. Anthropogenic fires burned more area than natural fires and consequently they had a shorter fire cycle (1196 years for anthropogenic fires, 6138 years for natural fires). These fire cycles appear to be much longer than in the past, prior to fire suppression. Nonetheless, despite suppression efforts, a substantial amount of fire activity occurred during the study period when conditions were sufficiently dry. The dry conditions of spring and fall were especially favorable for burning. Moreover, on an interannual level, drought had a strong influence on the amount of fire activity. [

Fire and the relative roles of weather, climate and landscape characteristics in the Great Lakes‐St. Lawrence forest of Canada

“…2b). A similar seasonal fire trend was observed for recent natural fires in the deciduous forests of the central Appalachian mountains of the United States (Lafon et al 2005). This situation contrasts what typically occurs in the Canadian boreal forest (Stocks et al 2002) and western United States (Westerling et al 2003), where fire frequency and area burned are highest during the hottest and driest period of the annual climatological cycle in July and August.…”

“…As compared to conifers, deciduous trees and stands possess structural and fuel attributes that impart low flammability, including low bulk density of the canopy, leaves with high moisture content, low concentrations of flammable resins and oils, discontinuity of fuels between the forest floor and tree crowns, high rates of decomposition for coarse woody debris, and relatively fire-retardant fine fuels and litter (Philpot 1970;Van Wagner 1977;Hély et al 2000;Frelich 2002). The development of a deciduous canopy decreases wind speeds and penetration of solar irradiance to the forest floor, limiting desiccation of forest fuels (Schroeder & Buck 1970;Lafon et al 2005). Moreover, deciduous stands can limit the intensity and spread of large fires (Hély et al 2001;Vazquez et al 2002;Wang 2002).…”

Contemporary Pyrogeography and Wildfire-Climate Relationships of South Dakota, USA

“…Fire activity in the western Great Plains typically peaks during the warm season [15]; however, other portions of the Great Plains including the High Pains, Lake Agassiz region, Flint Hills, central Great Plains, and Southwestern Tablelands also show a propensity for increased fire activity during the spring months [16]. Wildfires across the eastern US, including the Appalachian region, see yearly peaks in fire activity during October and November as well as during March and April [17,18].…”

Influence of rocky landscape features and fire regime on vegetation dynamics in Appalachian Quercus forests

“…Patterns of fire periodicity, seasonality, intensity, and area determine the natural disturbance regime of a landscape (Lafon et al 2005). Historically, fires caused by lightning strike in the southeastern United States were low in severity but relatively high in frequency, occurring in late spring or early summer (Schmidt et al 2002;Lafon et al 2005;Knapp et al 2009). Traditionally, Native Americans used fires for various uses, such as to improve wildlife habitat and drive game (Van Lear and Waldrop 1989;Lafon et al 2005).…”

“…Historically, fires caused by lightning strike in the southeastern United States were low in severity but relatively high in frequency, occurring in late spring or early summer (Schmidt et al 2002;Lafon et al 2005;Knapp et al 2009). Traditionally, Native Americans used fires for various uses, such as to improve wildlife habitat and drive game (Van Lear and Waldrop 1989;Lafon et al 2005). European settlers also used fires to clear lands for agricultural purposes (Johnson and Hale 2001;Nowacki and Abrams 2008).…”