Abstract
The recent occurrence of large fires with a substantial stand-replacing component in the southwestern United States (e.g., Cerro Grande, 2000; Rodeo-Chedeski, 2002; Aspen, 2003; Horseshoe 2, Las Conchas, and Wallow, 2011) has raised questions about the historical role of stand-replacing fire in the region. We reconstructed fire dates and stand-replacing fire patch sizes using four lines of tree-ring evidence at four upper montane forest sites (>2600 m) in the Madrean Sky Islands and Mogollon Plateau of Arizona and New Mexico, USA. The four lines of tree-ring evidence include: (1) quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and spruce-fir age structure, (2) conifer death dates, (3) traumatic resin ducts and ring-width changes, and (4) conifer fire scars. Pre-1905 fire regimes in the upper montane forest sites were variable, with drier, south-facing portions of some sites recording frequent, low-severity fire (mean fire interval of all fires ranging from 5 yr to 11 yr among sites), others burning with stand-replacing severity, and others with no evidence of fire for >300 yr. Reconstructed fires at three of the four sites (Pinaleño Mountains, San Francisco Peaks, and Gila Wilderness) had stand-replacing fire patches >200 ha, with maximum patch sizes ranging from 286 ha in mixed conifer-aspen forests to 521 ha in spruce-fir forests. These data suggest that recent stand-replacing fire patches as large as 200 ha to 500 ha burning in upper elevation (>2600 m) mixed conifer-aspen and spruce-fir forests may be within the historical range of variability.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 88-107 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Fire Ecology |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2011 |
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Keywords
- Fire history
- Mixed conifer
- Quaking aspen
- Spruce-fir
- Tree ring
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Environmental Science (miscellaneous)
- Forestry
Cite this
Historical stand-replacing fire in upper montane forests of the Madrean Sky Islands and Mogollon Plateau, Southwestern USA. / Margolis, Ellis Q.; Swetnam, Thomas; Allen, Craig D.
In: Fire Ecology, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2011, p. 88-107.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Historical stand-replacing fire in upper montane forests of the Madrean Sky Islands and Mogollon Plateau, Southwestern USA
AU - Margolis, Ellis Q.
AU - Swetnam, Thomas
AU - Allen, Craig D.
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - The recent occurrence of large fires with a substantial stand-replacing component in the southwestern United States (e.g., Cerro Grande, 2000; Rodeo-Chedeski, 2002; Aspen, 2003; Horseshoe 2, Las Conchas, and Wallow, 2011) has raised questions about the historical role of stand-replacing fire in the region. We reconstructed fire dates and stand-replacing fire patch sizes using four lines of tree-ring evidence at four upper montane forest sites (>2600 m) in the Madrean Sky Islands and Mogollon Plateau of Arizona and New Mexico, USA. The four lines of tree-ring evidence include: (1) quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and spruce-fir age structure, (2) conifer death dates, (3) traumatic resin ducts and ring-width changes, and (4) conifer fire scars. Pre-1905 fire regimes in the upper montane forest sites were variable, with drier, south-facing portions of some sites recording frequent, low-severity fire (mean fire interval of all fires ranging from 5 yr to 11 yr among sites), others burning with stand-replacing severity, and others with no evidence of fire for >300 yr. Reconstructed fires at three of the four sites (Pinaleño Mountains, San Francisco Peaks, and Gila Wilderness) had stand-replacing fire patches >200 ha, with maximum patch sizes ranging from 286 ha in mixed conifer-aspen forests to 521 ha in spruce-fir forests. These data suggest that recent stand-replacing fire patches as large as 200 ha to 500 ha burning in upper elevation (>2600 m) mixed conifer-aspen and spruce-fir forests may be within the historical range of variability.
AB - The recent occurrence of large fires with a substantial stand-replacing component in the southwestern United States (e.g., Cerro Grande, 2000; Rodeo-Chedeski, 2002; Aspen, 2003; Horseshoe 2, Las Conchas, and Wallow, 2011) has raised questions about the historical role of stand-replacing fire in the region. We reconstructed fire dates and stand-replacing fire patch sizes using four lines of tree-ring evidence at four upper montane forest sites (>2600 m) in the Madrean Sky Islands and Mogollon Plateau of Arizona and New Mexico, USA. The four lines of tree-ring evidence include: (1) quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and spruce-fir age structure, (2) conifer death dates, (3) traumatic resin ducts and ring-width changes, and (4) conifer fire scars. Pre-1905 fire regimes in the upper montane forest sites were variable, with drier, south-facing portions of some sites recording frequent, low-severity fire (mean fire interval of all fires ranging from 5 yr to 11 yr among sites), others burning with stand-replacing severity, and others with no evidence of fire for >300 yr. Reconstructed fires at three of the four sites (Pinaleño Mountains, San Francisco Peaks, and Gila Wilderness) had stand-replacing fire patches >200 ha, with maximum patch sizes ranging from 286 ha in mixed conifer-aspen forests to 521 ha in spruce-fir forests. These data suggest that recent stand-replacing fire patches as large as 200 ha to 500 ha burning in upper elevation (>2600 m) mixed conifer-aspen and spruce-fir forests may be within the historical range of variability.
KW - Fire history
KW - Mixed conifer
KW - Quaking aspen
KW - Spruce-fir
KW - Tree ring
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84857014568&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84857014568&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4996/fireecology.0703088
DO - 10.4996/fireecology.0703088
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84857014568
VL - 7
SP - 88
EP - 107
JO - Fire Ecology
JF - Fire Ecology
SN - 1933-9747
IS - 3
ER -