Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
International Journal of Wildland Fire International Journal of Wildland Fire Society
Journal of the International Association of Wildland Fire
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Indications of vigor loss after fire in Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea) from electrical resistance measurements*

Timothy E. Paysen A D , Andrea L. Koonce B , Edwin Taylor C and Maria Ouxiliadora Rodriquez C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A USDA Forest Service, Riverside Forest Fire Laboratory, Riverside, CA, USA.

B San Bernardino National Forest, 602 South Tippecanoe Avenue, San Bernardino, CA 92408, USA.

C MARENA, Ministerio del Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua.

D Corresponding author. Email: tpaysen@fs.fed.us

International Journal of Wildland Fire 15(3) 415-425 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF05092
Submitted: 3 October 2005  Accepted: 24 May 2006   Published: 5 September 2006

Abstract

In May 1993, electrical resistance measurements were performed on trees in burned and unburned stands of Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea Mor.) in north-eastern Nicaragua to determine whether tree vigor was affected by fire. An Osmose model OZ-67 Shigometer with digital readout was used to collect the sample electrical resistance data. Computer-simulated randomization techniques were used to evaluate the significance of differences in electrical resistance between living trees of burned and unburned stands of various ages. Electrical resistance was used as an index of the general metabolic activity of the tree – our chosen definition of tree vigor. Results indicate a loss of tree vigor in stands that burned in comparison with those that did not.

Additional keywords: fire damage; fire effects; Nicaragua; tropics.


References


Art HW (Ed.) (1993) ‘The dictionary of ecology and environmental science.’ (Henry Holt and Co.: New York)

Bará S, Vega JA , Alonso M (1992) Estudio de los daños prodúcidos por el fuego en árboles, utilizando métodos bioeléctricos. I. Pino Radiata. Investigación Agraria, Sistemas y Recursos Forestales  1, 21–40.
Bara Temes S (1993) Mettodos bioelectricos para determinar el estado fisiologico de los arboles. In ‘Ponencias y communicaciones del Congresso Forestal Español’, 14–18 June 1993. pp. 219–224. (Lourizán, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain)

Blanche CA, Nebeker TE, Hodges JD, Schmitt JJ, Hones CR (1991) The applicability of stem electrical resistance in rating loblolly pine tree vigor. In ‘Proceedings of the sixth biennial southern silvicultural research conference’, 30 October–1 November 1990, Memphis, TN. (Eds SS Coleman, DG Neary) pp. 314–322. USDA Forest Service Southern Experiment Station, General Technical Report SE-70. (Asheville, NC)

Budowski G (1966) Fire in tropical American lowland areas. In ‘Proceedings of the fifth annual Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference’, 24–25 March 1966, Tallahassee, FL. (Chairmen EV Komarek, J Philips, CH Coulter) pp. 5–22. (Tall Timbers Research Station: Tallahassee, FL)

CIA (2005) Nicaragua. In ‘The world factbook’. Available at http://ww.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/nu.html [Verified 20 September 2005]

Cole DM (1980) Within-stand comparisons of inner bark electrical resistance in Lodgepole pine – the bark moisture factor. Forest Science  26, 309–312.
de Dixmude AJ (2001) Fire situation in Nicaragua. In ‘Global forest fire assessment 1990–2000’, Forest Resources Assessment WP 55. (Eds JG Goldammer, RW Mutch, P Pugliese) pp. 427–431. (FAO: Rome)

Edgington ES (1987) ‘Randomization tests.’ (Marcel Dekker: New York)

Everingham M (2001) Agricultural property rights and political change in Nicaragua. Tierra Americas, Latin American Politics and Society, Fall 2001. Landnet Americas. Available at http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4000/is_200110/ai_n8959781 [Verified 24 May 2006]

FAO (2001) Informacion sobre manejo forestal, recursos forestales y cambio en el uso de la tierra en America Latina, Anexo 4: Resumen del estado del manejo en los paises de America Latina. In ‘Memorias de Talleres “Información sobre Manejo y Recursos Forestales en America Latina” ’, 6 September 2001, Lima, Peru, Volume 3. pp. 169–258. (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Rome)

FAO and UNEP (1975) ‘Detection and control of forest fires for the protection of the human environment: Proposals for a global programme.’ UNEP project 0206-74-003. (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Rome)

Filip GM, Ganio LM, Oester PT, Mason RR , Wickman BE (2002) Ten-year effect of fertilization on tree growth and mortality associated with Armillaria root disease, fir engravers, dwarf mistletoe, and Western spruce budworm in North-eastern Oregon. Western Journal of Applied Forestry  17, 122–128.
Fisher RA (1935) ‘The design of experiments.’ (Oliver and Boyd: Edinburgh)

Friend JH, Guralnik DB (Gen. Eds) (1959) ‘Webster’s new world dictionary of the American language – college edn.’ (World Publishing Co.: Cleveland, OH)

Gagnon RR, Bauce E , Pineau M (1987) Relation between air water potential and cambial electrical resistance of balsam fir and white spruce after budbreak. Canadian Journal of Forest Research  17, 105–108.
Koonce AL, Paysen TE (1991) ‘Wildfire assessment in the pine savannas of northeast Nicaragua, 9–20 June 1991.’ USDA Forest Service, International Forestry, and USDA Forest Service, PSW Station, Riverside Forest Fire Laboratory. (Report on file)

Learningcurve (2005) ‘Nicaragua.’ Available at http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/COLDnicaragua.htm [Verified 29 June 2006]

Lincoln RJ, Boxshall GA, Clark PF (1983) ‘A dictionary of ecology, evolution and systematics.’ (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge)

Munro N (1966) The fire ecology of Caribbean pine in Nicaragua. In ‘Proceedings of the fifth annual Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference’, 24–25 March 1966, Tallahassee, FL. pp. 67–83. (Tall Timbers Research Station: Tallahassee, FL)

Narog MG, Paysen TE, Corcoran BM, Zavala MA (1997) Monitoring fire injury in Canyon live oak with electrical resistance. In ‘Proceedings of a symposium on oak woodlands: ecology, management, and urban interface issues’, 19–22 March 1996, San Louis Obispo, CA. (Tech. Coords NH Pillsbury, J Verner, WD Tietje) USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station, General Technical Report PSW-GTR-16. (Albany, CA)

NicaNet (2005) ‘Over 10 000 hectares of protected area destroyed by fire in RAAN.’ Nicaragua Network News Service. The Nicaragua Network, a project of the Alliance for Global Justice, 25 April 2005. Available at http://www.nicanet.org [Verified 21 September 2005]

Noreen EW (1989) ‘Computer-intensive methods for testing hypotheses: an introduction.’ (John Wiley and Sons: New York)

Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y Alimentación (1972) Investigación para el desarrollo de los recursos forestales en el noreste de nicaragua (SF/NIC 9–1/FO), Volume 1. (Forestal, Forestry and Engineering International: Vancouver)

Ostrofsky WD (1986) An evaluation of Red spruce vigor using the Shigometer. Progress Report 28. Cooperative Forest Research Unit, College of Forest Resources, University of Maine. Miscellaneous Report 315. (Maine Agricultural Station, University of Maine: Orono, ME)

Paysen TE , Narog MG (1993) Tree mortality 6 years after burning a thinned Quercus chrysolepis stand. Canadian Journal of Forest Research  23, 2236–2241.
Paysen TE, Narog MG, Zavala MA (1992) Monitoring electrical resistance in canyon live oak using a Shigometer. In ‘Ecology and management of oak and associated woodlands: perspectives in the south-western United States and northern Mexico’, 27–30 April 1992, Sierra Vista, AZ. (Tech. Coords PF Ffolliott, GJ Gottfried, DA Bennett, C Henandez, A Irtega-Rubio, RH Hamre) USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, General Technical Report RM-218. (Fort Collins, CO)

Peterson DL, Sackett SS, Robinson LJ , Haase SM (1994) The effects of repeated prescribed burning on Pinus ponderosa growth. International Journal of Wildland Fire  4, 239–247.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Portig WH (1976) The climate of central America. In ‘World survey of climatology, vol. 12, Climates of Central and South America’. (Ed. W Schwerdtfeger) pp. 405–478. (Elsevier: Amsterdam)

Shigo AL, Shortle WC (1985) ‘Shigometry: a reference guide.’ Agriculture Handbook No. 646. (United States Department of Agriculture: Washington, DC)

Shortle WS, Shigo AL, Berry P , Abusamra J (1977) Electrical resistance in tree cambium zone: relationship to rates of growth and wound closure. Forest Science  23, 326–329.
Silverman BW (1986) ‘Density estimation for statistics and data analysis.’ (Chapman and Hall: New York)

Tattar TA , Blanchard RO (1976) Electrophysiological research in plant pathology. Annual Review of Phytopathology  14, 309–325.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Taylor BW (1959) Estudios ecologicos para el aprovechamiento de la tierra en Nicaragua (Ecological land use surveys in Nicaragua), Volume 1. Ministerio de Economía, Instituto de Fomento Nacional, y Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y Alimentación. (Editorial Alemana: Managua)

Urbina WT (2003) Fire in reserve of pines in Waspam. In ‘La Prensa, el diario de los Nicaraguenses’. Available at http://www.laprensa.com.ni/archivo/2003/abril/25/regioanales/regionales-20030425-01.html [Verified 25 April 2003]

Wargo PM , Skutt HR (1975) Resistance to pulsed electric current: an indicator of stress in forest trees. Canadian Journal of Forest Research  5, 557–561.
World Vision International (2005) ‘Nicaragua – country profile.’ Available at http://www.wvi.org/wvi/country_profile/nicaragua.htm [Verified 5 July 2006]




* This article was written and prepared by US Government employees on official time and is therefore in the public domain and not subject to copyright.