TY - JOUR
T1 - Five-year post-restoration conditions and simulated climate-change trajectories in a warm/dry mixed-conifer forest, southwestern Colorado, USA
AU - Stoddard, M. T.
AU - Sánchez Meador, A. J.
AU - Fulé, Peter Z.
AU - Korb, Julie E.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by a grant from the USDA Forest Service. We would like to thank the staff and students at the Ecological Restoration Institute for field and the San Juan National Forests staff and logistical support. The authors thank Matthew Hurteau, David Huffman and two anonymous reviewers for reviews and suggested improvements to the manuscript. Northern Arizona University is an equal opportunity employer.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier B.V.
Copyright:
Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/11/15
Y1 - 2015/11/15
N2 - Some warm/dry mixed-conifer forests are at increasing risk of uncharacteristically large, high-severity fires. As a result, managers have begun ecological restoration efforts using treatments such as mechanical thinning and prescribed fire. Empirical information on the long-term impacts of these treatments is limited, especially in light of potential climate change. We assessed changes in forest structure and composition five-years following three alternative restoration treatments in a warm/dry mixed-conifer forest: (1) thin/burn, (2) prescribe burn, and (3) control. We used the Climate-Forest Vegetation Simulator (Climate-FVS) model to quantify potential forest trajectories under alternative climate scenarios. Five years following treatments, changes in forest structure were similar to initial post-treatment conditions, with thin/burn being the only treatment to shift and maintain forest structure and composition within historical reference conditions. By 2013, the thin/burn had reduced basal area (11.3m2ha-1) and tree density (117.2treeha-1) by 56% and 79% respectively, compared to pre-treatment values. In the burn, basal area (20.5m2ha-1) and tree density (316.6treeha-1) was reduced by 20% and 35% respectively, from 2002 to 2013. Mortality of large ponderosa pine trees (the most fire-resistant species) throughout the duration of the experiment, averaged 6% in the burn compared to 16% in the thin/burn treatment. Changes five years following treatments were largely due to increases in sprouting species. Shrub and sapling densities were approximately two to three times higher (respectively) in the thin/burn compared to burn and control and dominated by sprouting oak and aspen. Under climate simulations, the thin/burn was more resilient in maintaining forest conditions compared to burn and control which approached meager forest conditions (3-4m2ha-1). These results indicate that restoration treatment that include both thinning and burning can maintain forest integrity over the next few decades.
AB - Some warm/dry mixed-conifer forests are at increasing risk of uncharacteristically large, high-severity fires. As a result, managers have begun ecological restoration efforts using treatments such as mechanical thinning and prescribed fire. Empirical information on the long-term impacts of these treatments is limited, especially in light of potential climate change. We assessed changes in forest structure and composition five-years following three alternative restoration treatments in a warm/dry mixed-conifer forest: (1) thin/burn, (2) prescribe burn, and (3) control. We used the Climate-Forest Vegetation Simulator (Climate-FVS) model to quantify potential forest trajectories under alternative climate scenarios. Five years following treatments, changes in forest structure were similar to initial post-treatment conditions, with thin/burn being the only treatment to shift and maintain forest structure and composition within historical reference conditions. By 2013, the thin/burn had reduced basal area (11.3m2ha-1) and tree density (117.2treeha-1) by 56% and 79% respectively, compared to pre-treatment values. In the burn, basal area (20.5m2ha-1) and tree density (316.6treeha-1) was reduced by 20% and 35% respectively, from 2002 to 2013. Mortality of large ponderosa pine trees (the most fire-resistant species) throughout the duration of the experiment, averaged 6% in the burn compared to 16% in the thin/burn treatment. Changes five years following treatments were largely due to increases in sprouting species. Shrub and sapling densities were approximately two to three times higher (respectively) in the thin/burn compared to burn and control and dominated by sprouting oak and aspen. Under climate simulations, the thin/burn was more resilient in maintaining forest conditions compared to burn and control which approached meager forest conditions (3-4m2ha-1). These results indicate that restoration treatment that include both thinning and burning can maintain forest integrity over the next few decades.
KW - Climate-Forest Vegetation Simulator
KW - Ecological restoration
KW - Historical reference conditions
KW - Prescribed fire
KW - Thinning
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U2 - 10.1016/j.foreco.2015.07.007
DO - 10.1016/j.foreco.2015.07.007
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84945438595
SN - 0378-1127
VL - 356
SP - 253
EP - 261
JO - Forest Ecology and Management
JF - Forest Ecology and Management
ER -