1
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Phillips ML, Lauria C, Spector T, Bradford JB, Gehring C, Osborne BB, Howell A, Grote EE, Rondeau RJ, Trimber GM, Robinson B, Reed SC. Trajectories and tipping points of piñon-juniper woodlands after fire and thinning. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17149. [PMID: 38342970 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 02/13/2024]
Abstract
Piñon-juniper (PJ) woodlands are a dominant community type across the Intermountain West, comprising over a million acres and experiencing critical effects from increasing wildfire. Large PJ mortality and regeneration failure after catastrophic wildfire have elevated concerns about the long-term viability of PJ woodlands. Thinning is increasingly used to safeguard forests from fire and in an attempt to increase climate resilience. We have only a limited understanding of how fire and thinning will affect the structure and function of PJ ecosystems. Here, we examined vegetation structure, microclimate conditions, and PJ regeneration dynamics following ~20 years post-fire and thinning treatments. We found that burned areas had undergone a state shift that did not show signs of returning to their previous state. This shift was characterized by (1) distinct plant community composition dominated by grasses; (2) a lack of PJ recruitment; (3) a decrease in the sizes of interspaces in between plants; (4) lower abundance of late successional biological soil crusts; (5) lower mean and minimum daily soil moisture values; (6) lower minimum daily vapor pressure deficit; and (7) higher photosynthetically active radiation. Thinning created distinct plant communities and served as an intermediate between intact and burned communities. More intensive thinning decreased PJ recruitment and late successional biocrust cover. Our results indicate that fire has the potential to create drier and more stressful microsite conditions, and that, in the absence of active management following fire, there may be shifts to persistent ecological states dominated by grasses. Additionally, more intensive thinning had a larger impact on community structure and recruitment than less intensive thinning, suggesting that careful consideration of goals could help avoid unintended consequences. While our results indicate the vulnerability of PJ ecosystems to fire, they also highlight management actions that could be adapted to create conditions that promote PJ re-establishment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michala L Phillips
- U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Hawai'i, USA
| | - Cara Lauria
- U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, Utah, USA
| | - Tova Spector
- U.S. Forest Service, Intermountain Region 4, Ogden, Utah, USA
| | - John B Bradford
- U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Catherine Gehring
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Brooke B Osborne
- Department of Environment and Society, Utah State University, Moab, Utah, USA
| | - Armin Howell
- U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, Utah, USA
| | - Edmund E Grote
- U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, Utah, USA
| | - Renee J Rondeau
- Colorado State University, Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Hesperus, Colorado, USA
| | - Gillian M Trimber
- Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | | | - Sasha C Reed
- U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Moab, Utah, USA
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2
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Nelson AR, Fegel TS, Danczak RE, Caiafa MV, Roth HK, Dunn OI, Turvold CA, Borch T, Glassman SI, Barnes RT, Rhoades CC, Wilkins MJ. Soil microbiome feedbacks during disturbance-driven forest ecosystem conversion. THE ISME JOURNAL 2024; 18:wrae047. [PMID: 38502869 DOI: 10.1093/ismejo/wrae047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/17/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024]
Abstract
Disturbances cause rapid changes to forests, with different disturbance types and severities creating unique ecosystem trajectories that can impact the underlying soil microbiome. Pile burning-the combustion of logging residue on the forest floor-is a common fuel reduction practice that can have impacts on forest soils analogous to those following high-severity wildfire. Further, pile burning following clear-cut harvesting can create persistent openings dominated by nonwoody plants surrounded by dense regenerating conifer forest. A paired 60-year chronosequence of burn scar openings and surrounding regenerating forest after clear-cut harvesting provides a unique opportunity to assess whether belowground microbial processes mirror aboveground vegetation during disturbance-induced ecosystem shifts. Soil ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity was reduced the first decade after pile burning, which could explain poor tree seedling establishment and subsequent persistence of herbaceous species within the openings. Fine-scale changes in the soil microbiome mirrored aboveground shifts in vegetation, with short-term changes to microbial carbon cycling functions resembling a postfire microbiome (e.g. enrichment of aromatic degradation genes) and respiration in burn scars decoupled from substrate quantity and quality. Broadly, however, soil microbiome composition and function within burn scar soils converged with that of the surrounding regenerating forest six decades after the disturbances, indicating potential microbial resilience that was disconnected from aboveground vegetation shifts. This work begins to unravel the belowground microbial processes that underlie disturbance-induced ecosystem changes, which are increasing in frequency tied to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amelia R Nelson
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, United States
| | - Timothy S Fegel
- Rocky Mountain Research Station, US Forest Service, Fort Collins, CO 80526, United States
| | - Robert E Danczak
- Division of Biological Sciences, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99354, United States
| | - Marcos V Caiafa
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, United States
| | - Holly K Roth
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, United States
| | - Oliver I Dunn
- The Environmental Studies Program, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO 80946, United States
| | - Cosette A Turvold
- The Environmental Studies Program, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO 80946, United States
| | - Thomas Borch
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, United States
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, United States
| | - Sydney I Glassman
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, United States
| | - Rebecca T Barnes
- The Environmental Studies Program, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO 80946, United States
| | - Charles C Rhoades
- Rocky Mountain Research Station, US Forest Service, Fort Collins, CO 80526, United States
| | - Michael J Wilkins
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, United States
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3
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Rodman KC, Davis KT, Parks SA, Chapman TB, Coop JD, Iniguez JM, Roccaforte JP, Sánchez Meador AJ, Springer JD, Stevens-Rumann CS, Stoddard MT, Waltz AEM, Wasserman TN. Refuge-yeah or refuge-nah? Predicting locations of forest resistance and recruitment in a fiery world. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:7029-7050. [PMID: 37706328 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023]
Abstract
Climate warming, land use change, and altered fire regimes are driving ecological transformations that can have critical effects on Earth's biota. Fire refugia-locations that are burned less frequently or severely than their surroundings-may act as sites of relative stability during this period of rapid change by being resistant to fire and supporting post-fire recovery in adjacent areas. Because of their value to forest ecosystem persistence, there is an urgent need to anticipate where refugia are most likely to be found and where they align with environmental conditions that support post-fire tree recruitment. Using biophysical predictors and patterns of burn severity from 1180 recent fire events, we mapped the locations of potential fire refugia across upland conifer forests in the southwestern United States (US) (99,428 km2 of forest area), a region that is highly vulnerable to fire-driven transformation. We found that low pre-fire forest cover, flat slopes or topographic concavities, moderate weather conditions, spring-season burning, and areas affected by low- to moderate-severity fire within the previous 15 years were most commonly associated with refugia. Based on current (i.e., 2021) conditions, we predicted that 67.6% and 18.1% of conifer forests in our study area would contain refugia under moderate and extreme fire weather, respectively. However, potential refugia were 36.4% (moderate weather) and 31.2% (extreme weather) more common across forests that experienced recent fires, supporting the increased use of prescribed and resource objective fires during moderate weather conditions to promote fire-resistant landscapes. When overlaid with models of tree recruitment, 23.2% (moderate weather) and 6.4% (extreme weather) of forests were classified as refugia with a high potential to support post-fire recruitment in the surrounding landscape. These locations may be disproportionately valuable for ecosystem sustainability, providing habitat for fire-sensitive species and maintaining forest persistence in an increasingly fire-prone world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle C Rodman
- Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Kimberley T Davis
- Fire Sciences Laboratory, Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Sean A Parks
- Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Teresa B Chapman
- Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Program, Chief Conservation Office, The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, Virginia, USA
| | - Jonathan D Coop
- Clark School of Environment and Sustainability, Western Colorado University, Gunnison, Colorado, USA
| | - Jose M Iniguez
- Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - John P Roccaforte
- Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Andrew J Sánchez Meador
- Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
- School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Judith D Springer
- Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Camille S Stevens-Rumann
- Colorado Forest Restoration Institute, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
- Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Michael T Stoddard
- Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Amy E M Waltz
- Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
| | - Tzeidle N Wasserman
- Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
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Jung CG, Keyser AR, Remy CC, Krofcheck D, Allen CD, Hurteau MD. Topographic information improves simulated patterns of post-fire conifer regeneration in the southwest United States. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:4342-4353. [PMID: 37211629 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2023] [Revised: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The western United States is projected to experience more frequent and severe wildfires in the future due to drier and hotter climate conditions, exacerbating destructive wildfire impacts on forest ecosystems such as tree mortality and unsuccessful post-fire regeneration. While empirical studies have revealed strong relationships between topographical information and plant regeneration, ecological processes in ecosystem models have either not fully addressed topography-mediated effects on the probability of plant regeneration, or the probability is only controlled by climate-related factors, for example, water and light stresses. In this study, we incorporated seedling survival data based on a planting experiment in the footprint of the 2011 Las Conchas Fire into the Photosynthesis and EvapoTranspiration (PnET) extension of the LANDIS-II model by adding topographic and an additional climatic variable to the probability of regeneration. The modified algorithm included topographic parameters such as heat load index and ground slope and spring precipitation. We ran simulations on the Las Conchas Fire landscape for 2012-2099 using observed and projected climate data (i.e., Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 and 8.5). Our modification significantly reduced the number of regeneration events of three common southwestern conifer tree species (piñon, ponderosa pine, and Douglas-fir), leading to decreases in aboveground biomass, regardless of climate scenario. The modified algorithm decreased regeneration at higher elevations and increased regeneration at lower elevations relative to the original algorithm. Regenerations of three species also decreased in eastern aspects. Our findings suggest that ecosystem models may overestimate post-fire regeneration events in the southwest United States. To better represent regeneration processes following wildfire, ecosystem models need refinement to better account for the range of factors that influence tree seedling establishment. This will improve model utility for projecting the combined effects of climate and wildfire on tree species distributions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang Gyo Jung
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Alisa R Keyser
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
- Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Cecile C Remy
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
- Institute of Geography, Augsburg University, Augsburg, Germany
| | - Daniel Krofcheck
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Craig D Allen
- Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Matthew D Hurteau
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
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5
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Gonzalez AD, Pearse IS, Redmond MD. Increased aridity is associated with stronger tradeoffs in ponderosa pine vital functions. Ecology 2023; 104:e4120. [PMID: 37303252 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Revised: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Trees must allocate resources to core functions like growth, defense, and reproduction. These allocation patterns have profound effects on forest health, yet little is known about how core functions trade off over time, and even less is known about how a changing climate will impact tradeoffs. We conducted a 21-year survey of growth, defense, and reproduction in 80 ponderosa pine individuals spanning eight populations across environmental gradients along the Colorado Front Range, USA. We used linear mixed models to describe tradeoffs among these functions and to characterize variability among and within individuals over time. Growth and defense were lower in years of high cone production, and local drought conditions amplified year-to-year tradeoffs between reproduction and growth, where trees located at sites with hotter and drier climates showed stronger tradeoffs between reproduction and growth. Our results support the environmental stress hypothesis of masting, which predicts that greater interannual variation in tree functions will be associated with more marginal environments, such as those that are prone to drought. With warming temperatures and increased exposure to drought stress, trees will be faced with stronger interannual tradeoffs, which could lead to further decreases in growth and defensive efforts, ultimately increasing risks of mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela D Gonzalez
- Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Ian S Pearse
- U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Miranda D Redmond
- Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
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6
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Ritter SM, Hoffman CM, Battaglia MA, Jain TB. Restoration and fuel hazard reduction result in equivalent reductions in crown fire behavior in dry conifer forests. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2682. [PMID: 35592904 PMCID: PMC9787879 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Over the past several decades, the management of historically frequent-fire forests in the western United States has received significant attention due to the linked ecological and social risks posed by the increased occurrence of large, contiguous patches of high-severity fire. As a result, efforts are underway to simultaneously reduce potential fire and fuel hazards and restore characteristics indicative of historical forest structures and ecological processes that enhance the diversity and quality of wildlife habitat across landscapes. Despite widespread agreement on the need for action, there is a perceived tension among scientists concerning silvicultural treatments that modify stands to optimally reduce potential fire behavior (fuel hazard reduction) versus those that aim to emulate historical forest structures and create structurally complex stands (restoration). In this work, we evaluated thinning treatments in the Black Hills National Forest that exemplify the extremes of a treatment continuum that ranges from fuel hazard reduction to restoration. The goal of this work was to understand how the differing three-dimensional stand structures created by these treatment approaches altered potential fire behavior. Our results indicate that restoration treatments created higher levels of vertical and horizontal structural complexity than the fuel hazard reduction treatments but resulted in similar reductions to potential crown fire behavior. There were some trade-offs identified as the restoration treatments created larger openings, which generated faster mean rates of fire spread; however, these increased spread rates did not translate to higher levels of canopy consumption. Overall, our results suggest that treatments can create vertical and horizontal complexity desired for restoration and wildlife habitat management while reducing fire hazard and that they can be used in concert with traditional fuel hazard reduction treatments to reduce landscape scale fire risk. We also provide some suggestions to land managers seeking to design and implement prescriptions that emulate historical structures and enhance forest complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott M. Ritter
- Colorado Forest Restoration Institute, Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Warner College of Natural ResourcesColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | - Chad M. Hoffman
- Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Warner College of Natural ResourcesColorado State UniversityFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | - Mike A. Battaglia
- USDA Forest ServiceRocky Mountain Research StationFort CollinsColoradoUSA
| | - Theresa B. Jain
- USDA Forest ServiceRocky Mountain Research StationMoscowIdahoUSA
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7
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Prichard SJ, Hessburg PF, Hagmann RK, Povak NA, Dobrowski SZ, Hurteau MD, Kane VR, Keane RE, Kobziar LN, Kolden CA, North M, Parks SA, Safford HD, Stevens JT, Yocom LL, Churchill DJ, Gray RW, Huffman DW, Lake FK, Khatri‐Chhetri P. Adapting western North American forests to climate change and wildfires: 10 common questions. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2021; 31:e02433. [PMID: 34339088 PMCID: PMC9285930 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
We review science-based adaptation strategies for western North American (wNA) forests that include restoring active fire regimes and fostering resilient structure and composition of forested landscapes. As part of the review, we address common questions associated with climate adaptation and realignment treatments that run counter to a broad consensus in the literature. These include the following: (1) Are the effects of fire exclusion overstated? If so, are treatments unwarranted and even counterproductive? (2) Is forest thinning alone sufficient to mitigate wildfire hazard? (3) Can forest thinning and prescribed burning solve the problem? (4) Should active forest management, including forest thinning, be concentrated in the wildland urban interface (WUI)? (5) Can wildfires on their own do the work of fuel treatments? (6) Is the primary objective of fuel reduction treatments to assist in future firefighting response and containment? (7) Do fuel treatments work under extreme fire weather? (8) Is the scale of the problem too great? Can we ever catch up? (9) Will planting more trees mitigate climate change in wNA forests? And (10) is post-fire management needed or even ecologically justified? Based on our review of the scientific evidence, a range of proactive management actions are justified and necessary to keep pace with changing climatic and wildfire regimes and declining forest heterogeneity after severe wildfires. Science-based adaptation options include the use of managed wildfire, prescribed burning, and coupled mechanical thinning and prescribed burning as is consistent with land management allocations and forest conditions. Although some current models of fire management in wNA are averse to short-term risks and uncertainties, the long-term environmental, social, and cultural consequences of wildfire management primarily grounded in fire suppression are well documented, highlighting an urgency to invest in intentional forest management and restoration of active fire regimes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan J. Prichard
- University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest SciencesSeattleWashington98195‐2100USA
| | - Paul F. Hessburg
- University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest SciencesSeattleWashington98195‐2100USA
- U.S. Forest Service PNW Research StationWenatcheeWashington98801USA
| | - R. Keala Hagmann
- University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest SciencesSeattleWashington98195‐2100USA
- Applegate Forestry LLCCorvallisOregon97330USA
| | - Nicholas A. Povak
- U.S. Forest ServicePacific Southwest Research StationInstitute of Forest Genetics2480 Carson RoadPlacervilleCalifornia95667USA
| | - Solomon Z. Dobrowski
- University of Montana College of Forestry and ConservationMissoulaMontana59812USA
| | - Matthew D. Hurteau
- University of New Mexico Biology DepartmentAlbuquerqueNew Mexico87131‐0001USA
| | - Van R. Kane
- University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest SciencesSeattleWashington98195‐2100USA
| | - Robert E. Keane
- U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research StationMissoula Fire Sciences LaboratoryMissoulaMontana59808USA
| | - Leda N. Kobziar
- Department of Natural Resources and SocietyUniversity of IdahoMoscowIdaho83844USA
| | - Crystal A. Kolden
- School of EngineeringUniversity of California MercedMercedCalifornia95343USA
| | - Malcolm North
- U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station1731 Research ParkDavisCalifornia95618USA
| | - Sean A. Parks
- U.S. Forest Service Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research InstituteMissoulaMontana59801USA
| | - Hugh D. Safford
- U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research StationAlbanyCalifornia94710USA
| | - Jens T. Stevens
- U.S. Geological Survey Fort Collins Science CenterNew Mexico Landscapes Field StationSanta FeNew Mexico87544USA
| | - Larissa L. Yocom
- Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology CenterUtah State University College of Agriculture and Applied SciencesLoganUtah84322USA
| | - Derek J. Churchill
- Washington State Department of Natural Resources Forest Health ProgramOlympiaWashington98504USA
| | - Robert W. Gray
- R.W. Gray ConsultingChilliwackBritish ColumbiaV2R2N2Canada
| | - David W. Huffman
- Northern Arizona University Ecological Restoration InstituteFlagstaffArizona86011USA
| | - Frank K. Lake
- U.S. Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research StationArcataCalifornia95521USA
| | - Pratima Khatri‐Chhetri
- University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest SciencesSeattleWashington98195‐2100USA
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8
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Provenance Variation in Early Survival, Growth, and Carbon Isotope Discrimination of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Growing in Three Common Gardens across an Elevational Gradient. FORESTS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/f12111561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
We investigated early survival, growth, and carbon isotope discrimination of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson var. scopulorum Engelm.) seedlings from different provenances using common gardens across an elevational gradient in order to examine the potential for adaptation to extreme environments and constraints to artificial regeneration. Twenty-one provenances from a range of elevations across Arizona and New Mexico were planted in three common gardens: a high-elevation meadow in aspen-mixed conifer forest, a mid-elevation ponderosa pine forest, and a low-elevation pinyon juniper woodland. Two years after planting in 2018, survival was highest at the mid-elevation site (54%), low at the high-elevation site (1.5%), and 0% at the low-elevation site. At the hot and dry low-elevation site, provenances from low-elevations survived longer than provenances from mid- and high-elevations, which suggests greater drought tolerance of low-elevation provenances. Mortality agents changed from abiotic (drought) to biotic (herbivory) with an increase in elevation across sites. High mortality of seedlings planted at high-elevation sites from biotic agents, such as rodents, may challenge efforts to establish ponderosa pine in assisted migration projects. Seedlings had significantly higher growth rate and carbon isotope discrimination (∆13C) at the mid-elevation site than the high-elevation site. Provenances differed significantly in diameter, and ∆13C, but not in height growth rate for the first year after planting. Provenance variation in ∆13C suggests genetic variation in water use efficiency that may be useful for future evaluation of southwestern ponderosa pine seed sources for reforestation.
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9
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Clark JS, Andrus R, Aubry-Kientz M, Bergeron Y, Bogdziewicz M, Bragg DC, Brockway D, Cleavitt NL, Cohen S, Courbaud B, Daley R, Das AJ, Dietze M, Fahey TJ, Fer I, Franklin JF, Gehring CA, Gilbert GS, Greenberg CH, Guo Q, HilleRisLambers J, Ibanez I, Johnstone J, Kilner CL, Knops J, Koenig WD, Kunstler G, LaMontagne JM, Legg KL, Luongo J, Lutz JA, Macias D, McIntire EJB, Messaoud Y, Moore CM, Moran E, Myers JA, Myers OB, Nunez C, Parmenter R, Pearse S, Pearson S, Poulton-Kamakura R, Ready E, Redmond MD, Reid CD, Rodman KC, Scher CL, Schlesinger WH, Schwantes AM, Shanahan E, Sharma S, Steele MA, Stephenson NL, Sutton S, Swenson JJ, Swift M, Veblen TT, Whipple AV, Whitham TG, Wion AP, Zhu K, Zlotin R. Continent-wide tree fecundity driven by indirect climate effects. Nat Commun 2021; 12:1242. [PMID: 33623042 PMCID: PMC7902660 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20836-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Indirect climate effects on tree fecundity that come through variation in size and growth (climate-condition interactions) are not currently part of models used to predict future forests. Trends in species abundances predicted from meta-analyses and species distribution models will be misleading if they depend on the conditions of individuals. Here we find from a synthesis of tree species in North America that climate-condition interactions dominate responses through two pathways, i) effects of growth that depend on climate, and ii) effects of climate that depend on tree size. Because tree fecundity first increases and then declines with size, climate change that stimulates growth promotes a shift of small trees to more fecund sizes, but the opposite can be true for large sizes. Change the depresses growth also affects fecundity. We find a biogeographic divide, with these interactions reducing fecundity in the West and increasing it in the East. Continental-scale responses of these forests are thus driven largely by indirect effects, recommending management for climate change that considers multiple demographic rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- James S. Clark
- grid.26009.3d0000 0004 1936 7961Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC USA ,grid.450307.5INRAE, LESSEM, University Grenoble Alpes, Saint-Martin-d’Heres, France
| | - Robert Andrus
- grid.266190.a0000000096214564Department of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO USA
| | - Melaine Aubry-Kientz
- grid.266096.d0000 0001 0049 1282School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA USA
| | - Yves Bergeron
- grid.265695.bForest Research Institute, University of Quebec in Abitibi-Temiscamingue, Rouyn-Noranda, QC Canada
| | - Michal Bogdziewicz
- grid.5633.30000 0001 2097 3545Department of Systematic Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland
| | - Don C. Bragg
- grid.497399.90000 0001 2106 5338USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Monticello, AR USA
| | - Dale Brockway
- grid.472551.00000 0004 0404 3120USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station, Auburn, AL USA
| | - Natalie L. Cleavitt
- grid.5386.8000000041936877XNatural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY USA
| | - Susan Cohen
- grid.10698.360000000122483208Institute for the Environment, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC USA
| | - Benoit Courbaud
- grid.450307.5INRAE, LESSEM, University Grenoble Alpes, Saint-Martin-d’Heres, France
| | - Robert Daley
- grid.454846.f0000 0001 2331 3972Greater Yellowstone Network, National Park Service, Bozeman, MT USA
| | - Adrian J. Das
- grid.2865.90000000121546924USGS Western Ecological Research Center, Three Rivers, CA USA
| | - Michael Dietze
- grid.189504.10000 0004 1936 7558Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA USA
| | - Timothy J. Fahey
- grid.472551.00000 0004 0404 3120USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station, Auburn, AL USA
| | - Istem Fer
- grid.8657.c0000 0001 2253 8678Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Jerry F. Franklin
- grid.34477.330000000122986657Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle, WA USA
| | - Catherine A. Gehring
- grid.261120.60000 0004 1936 8040Department of Biological Science, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ USA
| | - Gregory S. Gilbert
- grid.205975.c0000 0001 0740 6917University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA USA
| | - Cathryn H. Greenberg
- grid.472551.00000 0004 0404 3120USDA Forest Service, Bent Creek Experimental Forest, Asheville, NC USA
| | - Qinfeng Guo
- grid.472551.00000 0004 0404 3120USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station, Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center, Research Triangle Park, NC USA
| | - Janneke HilleRisLambers
- grid.34477.330000000122986657Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA USA
| | - Ines Ibanez
- grid.214458.e0000000086837370School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI USA
| | - Jill Johnstone
- grid.25152.310000 0001 2154 235XDepartment of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK Canada
| | - Christopher L. Kilner
- grid.26009.3d0000 0004 1936 7961Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC USA
| | - Johannes Knops
- grid.440701.60000 0004 1765 4000Health and Environmental Sciences Department, Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China
| | - Walter D. Koenig
- grid.47840.3f0000 0001 2181 7878Hastings Reservation, University of California Berkeley, Carmel Valley, CA USA
| | - Georges Kunstler
- grid.450307.5INRAE, LESSEM, University Grenoble Alpes, Saint-Martin-d’Heres, France
| | - Jalene M. LaMontagne
- grid.254920.80000 0001 0707 2013Department of Biological Sciences, DePaul University, Chicago, IL USA
| | - Kristin L. Legg
- grid.454846.f0000 0001 2331 3972Greater Yellowstone Network, National Park Service, Bozeman, MT USA
| | - Jordan Luongo
- grid.26009.3d0000 0004 1936 7961Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC USA
| | - James A. Lutz
- grid.53857.3c0000 0001 2185 8768Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University Ecology Center, Logan, UT USA
| | - Diana Macias
- grid.266832.b0000 0001 2188 8502Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM USA
| | | | - Yassine Messaoud
- grid.265704.20000 0001 0665 6279Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec Canada
| | - Christopher M. Moore
- grid.254333.00000 0001 2296 8213Department of Biology, Colby College, Waterville, ME USA
| | - Emily Moran
- grid.266190.a0000000096214564Department of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO USA
| | - Jonathan A. Myers
- grid.4367.60000 0001 2355 7002Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO USA
| | - Orrin B. Myers
- grid.266832.b0000 0001 2188 8502University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM USA
| | - Chase Nunez
- grid.507516.00000 0004 7661 536XDepartment for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Robert Parmenter
- grid.454846.f0000 0001 2331 3972Valles Caldera National Preserve, National Park Service, Jemez Springs, NM USA
| | - Sam Pearse
- grid.2865.90000000121546924Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, CO USA
| | - Scott Pearson
- grid.435676.50000 0000 8528 5973Department of Natural Sciences, Mars Hill University, Mars Hill, NC USA
| | - Renata Poulton-Kamakura
- grid.26009.3d0000 0004 1936 7961Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC USA
| | - Ethan Ready
- grid.26009.3d0000 0004 1936 7961Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC USA
| | - Miranda D. Redmond
- grid.47894.360000 0004 1936 8083Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO USA
| | - Chantal D. Reid
- grid.26009.3d0000 0004 1936 7961Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC USA
| | - Kyle C. Rodman
- grid.450307.5INRAE, LESSEM, University Grenoble Alpes, Saint-Martin-d’Heres, France
| | - C. Lane Scher
- grid.26009.3d0000 0004 1936 7961Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC USA
| | - William H. Schlesinger
- grid.26009.3d0000 0004 1936 7961Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC USA
| | - Amanda M. Schwantes
- grid.17063.330000 0001 2157 2938Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada
| | - Erin Shanahan
- grid.454846.f0000 0001 2331 3972Greater Yellowstone Network, National Park Service, Bozeman, MT USA
| | - Shubhi Sharma
- grid.26009.3d0000 0004 1936 7961Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC USA
| | - Michael A. Steele
- grid.268256.d0000 0000 8510 1943Department of Biology, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, PA USA
| | - Nathan L. Stephenson
- grid.2865.90000000121546924USGS Western Ecological Research Center, Three Rivers, CA USA
| | - Samantha Sutton
- grid.26009.3d0000 0004 1936 7961Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC USA
| | - Jennifer J. Swenson
- grid.26009.3d0000 0004 1936 7961Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC USA
| | - Margaret Swift
- grid.26009.3d0000 0004 1936 7961Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC USA
| | - Thomas T. Veblen
- grid.450307.5INRAE, LESSEM, University Grenoble Alpes, Saint-Martin-d’Heres, France
| | - Amy V. Whipple
- grid.261120.60000 0004 1936 8040Department of Biological Science, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ USA
| | - Thomas G. Whitham
- grid.261120.60000 0004 1936 8040Department of Biological Science, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ USA
| | - Andreas P. Wion
- grid.47894.360000 0004 1936 8083Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO USA
| | - Kai Zhu
- grid.205975.c0000 0001 0740 6917University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA USA
| | - Roman Zlotin
- grid.411377.70000 0001 0790 959XGeography Department and Russian and East European Institute, Bloomington, IN USA
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A climatic dipole drives short- and long-term patterns of postfire forest recovery in the western United States. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:29730-29737. [PMID: 33168732 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2007434117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Researchers are increasingly examining patterns and drivers of postfire forest recovery amid growing concern that climate change and intensifying fires will trigger ecosystem transformations. Diminished seed availability and postfire drought have emerged as key constraints on conifer recruitment. However, the spatial and temporal extent to which recurring modes of climatic variability shape patterns of postfire recovery remain largely unexplored. Here, we identify a north-south dipole in annual climatic moisture deficit anomalies across the Interior West of the US and characterize its influence on forest recovery from fire. We use annually resolved establishment models from dendrochronological records to correlate this climatic dipole with short-term postfire juvenile recruitment. We also examine longer-term recovery trajectories using Forest Inventory and Analysis data from 989 burned plots. We show that annual postfire ponderosa pine recruitment probabilities in the northern Rocky Mountains (NR) and the southwestern US (SW) track the strength of the dipole, while declining overall due to increasing aridity. This indicates that divergent recovery trajectories may be triggered concurrently across large spatial scales: favorable conditions in the SW can correspond to drought in the NR that inhibits ponderosa pine establishment, and vice versa. The imprint of this climatic dipole is manifest for years postfire, as evidenced by dampened long-term likelihoods of juvenile ponderosa pine presence in areas that experienced postfire drought. These findings underscore the importance of climatic variability at multiple spatiotemporal scales in driving cross-regional patterns of forest recovery and have implications for understanding ecosystem transformations and species range dynamics under global change.
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11
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FIRED (Fire Events Delineation): An Open, Flexible Algorithm and Database of US Fire Events Derived from the MODIS Burned Area Product (2001–2019). REMOTE SENSING 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/rs12213498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Harnessing the fire data revolution, i.e., the abundance of information from satellites, government records, social media, and human health sources, now requires complex and challenging data integration approaches. Defining fire events is key to that effort. In order to understand the spatial and temporal characteristics of fire, or the classic fire regime concept, we need to critically define fire events from remote sensing data. Events, fundamentally a geographic concept with delineated spatial and temporal boundaries around a specific phenomenon that is homogenous in some property, are key to understanding fire regimes and more importantly how they are changing. Here, we describe Fire Events Delineation (FIRED), an event-delineation algorithm, that has been used to derive fire events (N = 51,871) from the MODIS MCD64 burned area product for the coterminous US (CONUS) from January 2001 to May 2019. The optimized spatial and temporal parameters to cluster burned area pixels into events were an 11-day window and a 5-pixel (2315 m) distance, when optimized against 13,741 wildfire perimeters in the CONUS from the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity record. The linear relationship between the size of individual FIRED and Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) events for the CONUS was strong (R2 = 0.92 for all events). Importantly, this algorithm is open-source and flexible, allowing the end user to modify the spatio-temporal threshold or even the underlying algorithm approach as they see fit. We expect the optimized criteria to vary across regions, based on regional distributions of fire event size and rate of spread. We describe the derived metrics provided in a new national database and how they can be used to better understand US fire regimes. The open, flexible FIRED algorithm could be utilized to derive events in any satellite product. We hope that this open science effort will help catalyze a community-driven, data-integration effort (termed OneFire) to build a more complete picture of fire.
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12
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13
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Chapman TB, Schoennagel T, Veblen TT, Rodman KC. Still standing: Recent patterns of post-fire conifer refugia in ponderosa pine-dominated forests of the Colorado Front Range. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0226926. [PMID: 31940320 PMCID: PMC6961861 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2019] [Accepted: 12/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Forested fire refugia (trees that survive fires) are important disturbance legacies that provide seed sources for post-fire regeneration. Conifer regeneration has been limited following some recent western fires, particularly in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests. However, the extent, characteristics, and predictability of ponderosa pine fire refugia are largely unknown. Within 23 fires in ponderosa pine-dominated forests of the Colorado Front Range (1996-2013), we evaluated the spatial characteristics and predictability of refugia: first using Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (MTBS) burn severity metrics, then using landscape variables (topography, weather, anthropogenic factors, and pre-fire forest cover). Using 1-m resolution aerial imagery, we created a binary variable of post-fire conifer presence ('Conifer Refugia') and absence ('Conifer Absence') within 30-m grid cells. We found that maximum patch size of Conifer Absence was positively correlated with fire size, and 38% of the burned area was ≥ 50m from a conifer seed source, revealing a management challenge as fire sizes increase with warming further limiting conifer recovery. In predicting Conifer Refugia with two MTBS-produced databases, thematic burn severity classes (TBSC) and continuous Relative differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (RdNBR) values, Conifer Absence was high in previously forested areas of Low and Moderate burn severity classes in TBSC. RdNBR more accurately identified post-fire conifer survivorship. In predicting Conifer Refugia with landscape variables, Conifer Refugia were less likely during burn days with high maximum temperatures: while Conifer Refugia were more likely on moister soils and closer to higher order streams, homes, and roads; and on less rugged, valley topography. Importantly, pre-fire forest canopy cover was not strongly associated with Conifer Refugia. This study further informs forest management by mapping post-fire patches lacking conifer seed sources, validating the use of RdNBR for fire refugia, and detecting abiotic and topographic variables that may promote conifer refugia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa B. Chapman
- The Nature Conservancy, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
- Department of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Tania Schoennagel
- Department of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR), University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Thomas T. Veblen
- Department of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
| | - Kyle C. Rodman
- Department of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, United States of America
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