Forest fuels and potential fire behaviour 12 years after variable-retention harvest in lodgepole pine
Justin S. Crotteau A D , Christopher R. Keyes A , Elaine K. Sutherland B , David K. Wright B and Joel M. Egan C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Forest Management, University of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula, MT 59812, USA.
B Forest and Woodland Ecosystems Program, Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, 800 East Beckwith Avenue, Missoula, MT 59801, USA.
C Forest Health Protection, USDA Forest Service, 200 East Broadway, Missoula, MT 59807, USA.
D Corresponding author. Email: justin.crotteau@umontana.edu
International Journal of Wildland Fire 25(6) 633-645 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF14223
Submitted: 20 December 2014 Accepted: 28 January 2016 Published: 20 April 2016
Abstract
Variable-retention harvesting in lodgepole pine offers an alternative to conventional, even-aged management. This harvesting technique promotes structural complexity and age-class diversity in residual stands and promotes resilience to disturbance. We examined fuel loads and potential fire behaviour 12 years after two modes of variable-retention harvesting (dispersed and aggregated retention patterns) crossed by post-harvest prescribed fire (burned or unburned) in central Montana. Results characterise 12-year post-treatment fuel loads. We found greater fuel load reduction in treated than untreated stands, namely in the 10- and 100-h classes (P = 0.002 and 0.049 respectively). Reductions in 1-h (P < 0.001), 10-h (P = 0.008) and 1000-h (P = 0.014) classes were greater in magnitude for unburned than burned treatments. Fire behaviour modelling incorporated the regenerating seedling cohort into the surface fuel complex. Our analysis indicates greater surface fireline intensity in treated than untreated stands (P < 0.001), and in unburned over burned stands (P = 0.001) in dry, windy weather. Although potential fire behaviour in treated stands is predicted to be more erratic, within-stand structural variability reduces probability of crown fire spread. Overall, results illustrate trade-offs between potential fire attributes that should be acknowledged with variable-retention harvesting.
Additional keywords: custom fire behaviour fuel models, fuel accumulation, fuel treatments, Little Belt Mountains, multiaged silviculture, northern Rocky Mountains, Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest.
References
Adams MB, Loughry L, Plaugher L (Comps) (2008) Experimental forests and ranges of the USDA Forest Service. Revised. USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, General Technical Report NE-321. (Newtown Square, PA)Agee JK (1993) ‘Fire ecology of Pacific North-West forests.’ (Island Press: Washington, DC)
Agee JK, Lolley MR (2006) Thinning and prescribed fire effects on fuels and potential fire behavior in an Eastern Cascades forest, Washington, USA. Fire Ecology 2, 3–19.
| Thinning and prescribed fire effects on fuels and potential fire behavior in an Eastern Cascades forest, Washington, USA.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Agee JK, Bahro B, Finney MA, Omi PN, Sapsis DB, Skinner CN, Van Wagtendonk JW, Weatherspoon PC (2000) The use of shaded fuelbreaks in landscape fire management. Forest Ecology and Management 127, 55–66.
| The use of shaded fuelbreaks in landscape fire management.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Alexander RR (1966) Harvest cutting old-growth lodgepole pine in the central Rocky Mountains. Journal of Forestry 64, 113–116.
Anderson HE (1982) Aids to determining fuel models for estimating fire behavior. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Technical Report INT-122. (Ogden, UT)
Andrews PL, Bevins CD, Seli RC (2008) BehavePlus fire modeling system: Version 4.0: user’s guide. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-106WWW, Revised. (Fort Collins, CO)
Arno SF (1980) Forest fire history in the Northern Rockies. Journal of Forestry 78, 460–465.
Axelson JN, Alfaro RI, Hawkes BC (2010) Changes in stand structure in uneven-aged lodgepole pine stands impacted by mountain pine beetle epidemics and fires in central British Columbia. Forestry Chronicle 86, 87–99.
| Changes in stand structure in uneven-aged lodgepole pine stands impacted by mountain pine beetle epidemics and fires in central British Columbia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Baker WL (2009) ‘Fire ecology in Rocky Mountain landscapes.’ (Island Press: Washington, DC)
Beukema SJ, Greenough JA, Robinson DC, Kurtz WA, Reinhardt ED, Crookston NL, Brown JK, Hardy CC, Stage AR (1997) An introduction to the fire and fuels extension to FVS. In ‘Proceedings of the Forest Vegetation Simulator conference’. (Eds R Teck, M Moeur, J Adams) pp. 191–195. USDA Intermountain Research Station, General Technical Report INT-GTR-373. (Ogden, UT)
Brown JK (1974) Handbook for inventorying downed woody material. USDA Forest, Service Intermountain Research Station, General Technical Report INT-16. (Ogden, UT)
Brown JK (1978) Weight and density of crowns of Rocky Mountain conifers. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Research Paper INT-197. (Ogden, Utah)
Brown JK, Bevins CD (1986) Surface fuel loadings and predicted fire behavior for vegetation types in the Northern Rocky Mountains, USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Research Note INT-358. (Ogden, UT)
Chapman TB, Veblen TT, Schoennagel T (2012) Spatiotemporal patterns of mountain pine beetle activity in the southern Rocky Mountains. Ecology 93, 2175–2185.
| Spatiotemporal patterns of mountain pine beetle activity in the southern Rocky Mountains.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 23185879PubMed |
Drever CR, Peterson G, Messier C, Bergeron Y, Flannigan M (2006) Can forest management based on natural disturbances maintain ecological resilience? Canadian Journal of Forest Research 36, 2285–2299.
| Can forest management based on natural disturbances maintain ecological resilience?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Franklin JF, Berg DR, Thornburgh DA, Tappeiner JC (1997) Alternative silvicultural approaches to timber harvesting: variable retention harvest systems. In ‘Creating a forestry for the 21st century: the science of ecosystem management’. (Eds KA Kohm, JF Franklin) pp. 111–139. (Island Press: Washington, DC)
Gustafsson L, Baker SC, Bauhus J, Beese WJ, Brodie A, Kouki J, Lindenmayer DB, Lõhmus A, Martínez Pastur G, Messier C, Neyland M, Palik B, Sverdrup-Thygeson A, Volney WJA, Wayne A, Franklin JF (2012) Retention forestry to maintain multifunctional forests: a world perspective. Bioscience 62, 633–645.
| Retention forestry to maintain multifunctional forests: a world perspective.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hardy CC, Smith HY, McCaughey W (2006) The use of silviculture and prescribed fire to manage stand structure and fuel profiles in a multi-aged lodgepole pine forest. In ‘Fuels management – how to measure success: conference proceedings’, 28–30 March 2006, Portland, OR. (Comps PL Andrews, BW Butler) p. 451–464. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Proceedings RMRS-P-41. (Fort Collins, CO)
Harrington MG, Noonan-Wright E, Doherty M (2007) Testing the modeled effectiveness of an operational fuel reduction treatment in a small Western Montana interface landscape using two spatial scales methods. In ‘The fire environment – innovations, management, and policy’, 26–30 March 2007, Destin, FL. (Eds BW Butler, W Cook). USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Proceedings RMRS-P-46CD, pp. 301–314. (Fort Collins, CO)
Hood SM, Smith HY, Wright DK, Glasgow LS (2012) Management guide to ecosystem restoration treatments: two-aged lodgepole pine forests of central Montana, USA. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-294 (Fort Collins, CO)
Johnson E (1987) The relative importance of snow avalanche disturbance and thinning on canopy plant populations. Ecology 68, 43–53.
| The relative importance of snow avalanche disturbance and thinning on canopy plant populations.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Johnson TN, Buskirk SW, Hayward GD, Raphael MG (2014) Tree mortality after synchronized forest insect outbreaks: effects of tree species, bole diameter, and cutting history. Forest Ecology and Management 319, 10–17.
| Tree mortality after synchronized forest insect outbreaks: effects of tree species, bole diameter, and cutting history.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Keyes CR, Varner JM (2006) Pitfalls in the silvicultural treatment of canopy fuels. Fire Management Today 66, 46–50.
Keyes CR, Perry TE, Sutherland EK, Wright DK, Egan JM (2014) Variable-retention harvesting as a silvicultural option for lodgepole pine. Journal of Forestry 112, 440–445.
| Variable-retention harvesting as a silvicultural option for lodgepole pine.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kollenberg CL, O’Hara KL (1999) Leaf area and tree increment dynamics of even-aged and multi-aged lodgepole pine stands in Montana. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 29, 687–695.
| Leaf area and tree increment dynamics of even-aged and multi-aged lodgepole pine stands in Montana.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Lotan JE, Critchfield WB (1990) Lodgepole pine. In ‘Silvics of North America 1. Conifers’. (Eds RM Burns, BH Honkala). USDA Agriculture Handbook 654. (Washington, DC)
McCaughey WW, Martin SJ, Blomquist DA (2006) Two-aged silviculture treatments in lodgepole pine stands can be economically viable. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Research Note RMRS-RN-29. (Fort Collins, CO)
O’Hara KL (1998) Silviculture for structural diversity: a new look at multi-aged systems. Journal of Forestry 96, 4–10.
O’Hara KL (2014) ‘Multi-aged silviculture: managing for complex forest stand structures.’ (Oxford University Press: Oxford, UK)
Ottmar RD, Sandberg DV, Riccardi CL, Prichard SJ (2007) An overview of the fuel characteristic classification system – quantifying, classifying, and creating fuelbeds for resource planning. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 37, 2383–2393.
| An overview of the fuel characteristic classification system – quantifying, classifying, and creating fuelbeds for resource planning.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Pinheiro J, Bates D, DebRoy S, Sarkar D, R Core Team (2013) nlme: Linear and non-linear mixed effects models. R package version 3.1–111. Available at https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/nlme/index.html [Verified 19 February 2016]
Puettmann KJ, Coates KD, Messier C (2009) ‘A critique of silviculture: managing for complexity.’ (Island Press: Washington, DC)
R Core Team (2013) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Version 3.0.2. (R Foundation for Statistical Computing: Vienna, Austria)
Reinhardt ED, Keane RE, Brown JK (1997) First-order fire effects model: FOFEM 4.0, user’s guide. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, General Technical Report INT-GTR-344. (Ogden, UT)
Rothermel RC (1983) How to predict the spread and intensity of forest and range fires. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, General Technical Report INT-143. (Ogden, UT)
Safranyik L, Carroll A (2006) The biology and epidemiology of the mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine forests. In ‘The mountain pine beetle: a synthesis of biology, management, and impacts on lodgepole pine’. (Eds L Safranyik, W Wilson) pp. 3–66. (Canadian Forest Service Pacific Forestry Centre: Victoria, BC)
Schmidt WC, Alexander RR (1985) Strategies for managing lodgepole pine. In ‘Lodgepole pine – the species and its management’. (Eds DM Baumgarner, RG Krebill, JT Arnott, GF Weetman) pp. 201–210. (Washington State University: Pullman, WA)
Schultz CA, Jedd T, Beam RD (2012) The collaborative forest landscape restoration program: a history and overview of the first projects. Journal of Forestry 110, 381–391.
| The collaborative forest landscape restoration program: a history and overview of the first projects.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Scott JH, Burgan RE (2005) Standard fire behavior fuel models: a comprehensive set for use with Rothermel’s surface fire spread model. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-153. (Fort Collins, CO)
Scott JH, Reinhardt ED (2001) Assessing crown fire potential by linking models of surface and crown fire behavior. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Research Paper RMRS-RP-29. (Fort Collins, CO)
Smith DM, Larson BC, Kelty MJ, Ashton PMS (1997) ‘The practice of silviculture: applied forest ecology.’ (John Wiley and Sons, Inc.: New York, NY)
US Department of Agriculture (2007) USDA Forest Service Strategic Plan FY 2007–2012. USDA Strategic Planning and Resource Assessment FS-880. (Washington, DC)
Varner JM, Keyes CR (2009) Fuels treatments and fire models: errors and corrections. Fire Management Today 69, 47–50.
Whitehead R, Russo G (2005) ‘Beetle-proofed’ lodgepole pine stands in interior British Columbia have less damage from mountain pine beetle. Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Pacific Forestry Centre, Information Report BC–X–402. (Victoria, BC)
Whitehead R, Russo G, Hawkes B, Armitage O (2007) A silvicultural assessment of 10 lodgepole pine stands after partial cutting to reduce susceptibility to mountain pine beetle. Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, Information Report FI–X–001. (Victoria, BC)
Woodard P, Martin R (1980) Duff weight and depth in a high-elevation Pinus contorta Dougl. forest. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 10, 7–9.
| Duff weight and depth in a high-elevation Pinus contorta Dougl. forest.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Yanai RD, Currie WS, Goodale CL (2003) Soil carbon dynamics after forest harvest: an ecosystem paradigm reconsidered. Ecosystems 6, 197–212.
| Soil carbon dynamics after forest harvest: an ecosystem paradigm reconsidered.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD3sXks1Wqu7s%3D&md5=a04a6cb913e2580cbcb6fd192c99f8b4CAS |
