The effect of fire severity and salvage logging traffic on regeneration and early growth of aspen suckers in north-central Alberta

Fraser, Erin; Landhäusser, Simon M.; Lieffers, Victor J.

doi:10.5558/tfc80251-2

Cited by 40 publications

(27 citation statements)

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“…In the present analysis, it is clear that ramet density and growth rates were greater with increased fire severity, as has been shown in Arizona (Bailey and Whitham 2002), Alberta (Fraser et al 2004), and South Dakota (Keyser et al 2005). There are two important caveats to this trend: (1) the presence of heavy coarse woody debris within an aspen stand and (2) heavy post-fire ungulate browsing pressure.…”

Section: Management Wildfire and Aspen Regenerationsupporting

confidence: 57%

“…Many have advocated for the importance of severe disturbances for adequate aspen regeneration (DeByle and Winokur 1985), yet empirical studies are split on the question of fire severity on aspen regeneration, and there is no clear consensus among their findings. Bailey and Whitham (2002), Keyser et al (2005), Fraser et al (2004), and Wan et al (2014) found that fire severity was positively associated with post fire aspen sprout density. Horton and Hopkins (1965) and Wang (2003) found a negative relationship, and Brown and DeByle (1987) and Bartos et al (1994) found no clear relationship between fire severity and post fire aspen regeneration and growth.…”

Section: Burn Severitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolving paradigms of aspen ecology and management: impacts of stand condition and fire severity on vegetation dynamics

Krasnow

Stephens

2015

Ecosphere

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Abstract. Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) comprises only a small fraction of western USAforests, yet contributes significant biological diversity and is considered by many to be the most important deciduous forest type in western North America. There is currently a high level of concern in the western United States as many seral aspen populations are declining in vigor due to drought, ungulate browsing, and lack of disturbance. It is also highly uncertain if aspen will successfully accommodate future climate warming via migration through seedling establishment, which has been assumed to be extremely rare. In recent years, fundamental assumptions concerning aspen clonal age, regeneration, and genetic diversity have been challenged, and these findings have important implications for management and persistence of aspen in western USA forests. In this study, we compared regeneration dynamics of aspen revitalization strategies (conifer removal and prescribed fire) to unplanned wildfires of low, moderate, and high severity in the Sierra Nevada, and related multiple components of pre-fire stand composition to post-fire aspen regeneration. To better understand the viability of aspen migration to accommodate future climate warming, we examined recent events of aspen seedling establishment. We found substantial evidence that greater disturbance severity yields increased aspen sprout density and growth rates, and that live conifer and/or dead aspen basal area in a stand before a fire reduces post fire sprout density. Additionally, we found evidence that aspen seedling establishment is more common than has been assumed, and represents a viable means for aspen migration. Future climate changes will present both challenges and opportunities for aspen. Increased temperatures and drought will stress existing populations, but increased high severity fire in forested areas, may provide opportunity for successful aspen migration and genet establishment. In addition to revitalizing existing aspen stands, future management goals should include the establishment of new stands in more suitable habitat.

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Section: Management Wildfire and Aspen Regenerationsupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: Burn Severitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolving paradigms of aspen ecology and management: impacts of stand condition and fire severity on vegetation dynamics

Krasnow

Stephens

2015

Ecosphere

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“…Generally, then, in most cases where there has been an intense fire on an upland site with at least some component of pine species or black spruce, natural regeneration density exceeds forestry stocking standards (Donato et al 2006). As for aspen, contradictory results have been reported in the literature on the effect of fire severity, as Fraser et al (2004) observed little or no effect of severity on density of suckers, while Wang (2003) and Greene et al (2004) reported significantly lower density of suckers on severely burned plots. Nonetheless, the variation in stocking for asexual aspen along a canopy severity gradient is slight compared to the seedbed-mediated response of sexual stems.…”

Section: Tree Regenerationmentioning

confidence: 49%

“…As for the response of sprouting species, Fraser et al (2004) reported a 60% decrease in aspen sucker densities due to physical damage with a winter harvest immediately after a summer fire. Likewise, Kurulok and MacDonald (2004) observed a 50% decline in deciduous (mainly aspen) recruit density due to salvage.…”

Section: Tree Regenerationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salvage logging in the boreal and cordilleran forests of Canada: Integrating industrial and ecological concerns in management plans

Saint‐Germain¹,

Greene²

2009

The Forestry Chronicle

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Fire has been part of the North American boreal and cordilleran ecosystems for thousands of years. Because fire and harvesting compete directly for the same wood supply, and provinces have, within the last few decades, tended to reach their annual allowable cut, salvage logging has emerged as a practice to minimize the impact of fire on long-term wood supply. In most parts of the boreal and cordilleran forests, fire-killed boles rapidly degrade after their death, as wood-boring insects, stain, wood-decay fungi and checking lead to significant loss of grade or volume in the months following the fire. Because of this impending degradation, salvage operations are often hurried and other considerations, including the potential ecological impacts of salvage logging, have seldom been taken into consideration when defining harvesting strategies. The ecological consequences of rapid salvage have been widely studied only in the last 5 years, and it is now clear that salvage logging can have negative impacts on natural regeneration by seed, water quality, and fire-associated animal species. In this paper, we review both industrial and ecological constraints to salvage logging and discuss how both can be integrated in salvage plans. In particular, we focus on the issues of salvage timing and retention. At this point, some type of retention of merchantable stands, even if only for a few years, appears to be the only way to alleviate the negative ecological impacts of post-fire logging. On-site operational constraints, e.g., stands that cannot be harvested due to lack of accessibility, represent an important starting point for any retention strategy.Key words: boreal forest, forest fires, salvage logging, biodiversity, natural disturbances, regeneration after fire RÉSUMÉLe feu fait partie de l' écosystème boréal et de l' environnement des Rocheuses en Amérique du Nord depuis des milliers d'années. Compte tenu que le feu et l' exploitation forestière sont directement en compétition pour la même source de bois et que les provinces ont, au cours des quelques dernières décennies, tenté d'atteindre leur possibilité annuelle de coupe, la coupe de récupération est de plus en plus utilisée en tant que mesure de réduction des effets du feu sur l'approvisionnement en bois à long terme. Dans la plupart des régions forestières boréales et des Rocheuses, les arbres brûlés se dégradent rapidement après leur mort, puisque les insectes perceurs de bois, les décolorations, les champignons de pourriture et les fentes entraînent une diminution significative de la qualité ou du volume au cours des mois qui suivent un feu de forêt. Cette situation a pour effet que les opérations de récupération sont souvent effectuées à la dernière minute et que les autres considérations, incluant les impacts écologiques potentiels de la coupe de récupération, sont rarement étudiées au moment de l' élaboration des stratégies d' exploitation. Les conséquences écologiques d'une récupération rapide ont été étudiées à plusieurs reprises seulement depuis les ...

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“…On the other hand, given sufficient fire residence time, heat penetration into soil can be damaging to aspen root stocks (Brown and DeByle, 1987;Perala, 1991). Other studies have found that fire severity can enhance subsequent dominance by aspen (Frelich and Reich 1995;Fraser et al, 2004). In the case of the PCF, we hypothesized that higher fire severity areas would positively affect aspen abundance and negatively affect species richness (Turner et al, 1997;Wang and Kemball, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying Early-Seral Forest Composition with Remote Sensing

Cooley

Wolter

Sturtevant

2016

photogramm eng remote sensing

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The effect of fire severity and salvage logging traffic on regeneration and early growth of aspen suckers in north-central Alberta

Abstract: The Forestry Chronicle Downloaded from pubs.cif-ifc.org by 34.218.44.141 on 05/11/18For personal use only.

Cited by 40 publications

References 10 publications

Evolving paradigms of aspen ecology and management: impacts of stand condition and fire severity on vegetation dynamics

Evolving paradigms of aspen ecology and management: impacts of stand condition and fire severity on vegetation dynamics

Salvage logging in the boreal and cordilleran forests of Canada: Integrating industrial and ecological concerns in management plans

Quantifying Early-Seral Forest Composition with Remote Sensing

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