Ecosystem management applications of resource objective wildfires in forests of the Grand Canyon National Park, USA
Michael T. Stoddard
A C , Peter Z. Fulé B , David W. Huffman A , Andrew J. Sánchez Meador B and John Paul Roccaforte A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Ecological Restoration Institute, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5017, USA.
B School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5018, USA.
C Corresponding author. Email: Mike.Stoddard@nau.edu
International Journal of Wildland Fire 29(2) 190-200 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF19067
Submitted: 30 April 2019 Accepted: 26 November 2019 Published: 16 January 2020
Abstract
Forest managers of the western United States are increasingly interested in utilising naturally ignited wildfires to achieve management objectives. Wildfires can accomplish a range of objectives, from maintenance of intact ecological conditions, to ecosystem restoration, to playing vital natural disturbance roles; however, few studies have carefully evaluated long-term effectiveness and outcomes of wildfire applications across multiple forest types. We remeasured monitoring plots more than 10 years after ‘resource objective’ (RO) fires were allowed to burn in three main south-western forest types. Results showed minimal effects and effective maintenance of open conditions in an intact pine-oak site. Higher-severity fire and delayed mortality of larger and older trees contributed to reductions in basal area and canopy cover at the mixed-conifer and spruce-fir sites. Species dominance shifted towards ponderosa pine in both the mixed-conifer and spruce-fir sites. Although fires resulted in 46–68% mortality of smaller trees initially, substantial ingrowth brought tree density to near pre-fire levels in all forest types after 12 years. Overall, the 2003 RO fires were broadly successful at maintaining or creating open and heterogeneous conditions and resulted in fire- and drought-tolerant species composition. These conditions are likely to be resilient to changing climate, at least in the short term. Substantial mortality of large trees and continuing loss of basal area, however, are a concern, given further climate warming.
Additional keywords: ecosystem restoration, fine-scale variability, landscape patterns, maintenance fire, overstorey structure, tree regeneration.
References
Agee JK, Skinner CN (2005) Basic principles of forest fuel reduction treatments. Forest Ecology and Management 211, 83–96.| Basic principles of forest fuel reduction treatments.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Allen CD, Savage M, Falk DA, Suckling KF, Swetnam TW, Schulke T, Stacey PB, Morgan P, Hoffman M, Klingel JT (2002) Ecological restoration of southwestern ponderosa pine ecosystems: a broad perspective. Ecological Applications 12, 1418–1433.
| Ecological restoration of southwestern ponderosa pine ecosystems: a broad perspective.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Anderson MJ (2001) A new method for non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance. Austral Ecology 26, 32–46.
Aplet GH, Wilmer B (2010) The potential for restoring fire-adapted ecosystems: exploring opportunities to expand the use of wildfire as a natural change agent. Fire Management Today 70, 35–39.
Arno SF, Scott JH, Hartwell MG (1995) Age-class structure of old growth ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir stands and its relationship to fire history. USDA Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Research Paper INT-RP-481. (Ogden, UT, USA)
Bailey JD, Whitham TG (2002) Interactions among fire, aspen, and elk affect insect diversity: reversal of a community response. Ecology 83, 1701–1712.
| Interactions among fire, aspen, and elk affect insect diversity: reversal of a community response.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Covington WW (2000) Helping western forests heal: the prognosis is poor for United States forest ecosystems. Nature 408, 135–136.
| Helping western forests heal: the prognosis is poor for United States forest ecosystems.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 11089949PubMed |
Eidenshink J, Schwind B, Brewer K, Zhu Z, Quayle B, Howard S (2007) A project for monitoring trends in burn severity. Fire Ecology 3, 3–21.
| A project for monitoring trends in burn severity.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Faith DP, Minchin PR, Belbin L (1987) Compositional dissimilarity as a robust measure of ecological distance. Vegetatio 69, 57–68.
| Compositional dissimilarity as a robust measure of ecological distance.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Flatley WT, Fulé PZ (2016) Are historical fire regimes compatible with future climate? Implications for forest restoration. Ecosphere 7, 1–21.
| Are historical fire regimes compatible with future climate? Implications for forest restoration.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Franklin JF, Lindenmayer D, MacMahon JA, McKee A, Magnuson J, Perry DA, Waide R, Foster D (2000) Threads of continuity: ecosystem disturbance, recovery, and the theory of biological legacies. Conservation Biology in Practice 1, 8–17.
| Threads of continuity: ecosystem disturbance, recovery, and the theory of biological legacies.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fulé PZ (2008) Does it make sense to restore wildland fire in changing climate? Restoration Ecology 16, 526–531.
| Does it make sense to restore wildland fire in changing climate?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fulé PZ, Covington WW (1999) Fire regime changes in La Michilia Biosphere Reserve, Durango Mexico. Conservation Biology 13, 640–652.
| Fire regime changes in La Michilia Biosphere Reserve, Durango Mexico.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fulé PZ, Laughlin DC (2007) Wildland fire effects on forest structure over an altitudinal gradient, Grand Canyon National Park, USA. Journal of Applied Ecology 44, 136–146.
| Wildland fire effects on forest structure over an altitudinal gradient, Grand Canyon National Park, USA.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fulé PZ, Covington WW, Moore MM, Heinlein TA, Waltz AEW (2002) Natural variability in forests of the Grand Canyon, USA. Journal of Biogeography 29, 31–47.
| Natural variability in forests of the Grand Canyon, USA.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fulé PZ, Crouse JC, Heinlein TA, Moore MM, Covington WW, Verkamp G (2003a) Mixed severity fire regime in a high-elevation forest of Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA. Landscape Ecology 18, 465–486.
| Mixed severity fire regime in a high-elevation forest of Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fulé PZ, Heinlein TA, Covington WW, Moore MM (2003b) Assessing fire regimes on Grand Canyon landscapes with fire scar and fire record data. International Journal of Wildland Fire 12, 129–145.
| Assessing fire regimes on Grand Canyon landscapes with fire scar and fire record data.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fulé PZ, Roccaforte JP, Covington WW (2007) Posttreatment tree mortality after ecological restoration, Arizona, United States. Environmental Management 40, 623–634.
| Posttreatment tree mortality after ecological restoration, Arizona, United States.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 17638044PubMed |
Fulé PZ, Crouse JE, Roccaforte JP, Kalies EL (2012) Do thinning and/or burning treatments in western USA ponderosa or Jeffrey pine-dominated forests help restore natural fire behavior? Forest Ecology and Management 269, 68–81.
| Do thinning and/or burning treatments in western USA ponderosa or Jeffrey pine-dominated forests help restore natural fire behavior?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Halofsky JE, Andrews-Key SA, Edwards JE, Johnston MH, Nelson HW, Peterson DL, Schmitt KM, Swanston CW, Williamson TB (2018) Adapting forest management to climate change: the state of science and application in Canada and the United States. Forest Ecology and Management 421, 84–97.
| Adapting forest management to climate change: the state of science and application in Canada and the United States.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hejl SJ (1992) The importance of landscape patterns to bird diversity: a perspective from the northern Rocky-Mountains. Northwest Environmental Journal 8, 119–137.
Huffman DW, Sánchez Meador AJ, Stoddard MT, Crouse JE, Roccaforte JP (2017) Efficacy of resource objective wildfires for restoration of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest in northern Arizona. Forest Ecology and Management 389, 395–403.
| Efficacy of resource objective wildfires for restoration of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest in northern Arizona.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kalies EL, Yocom Kent LL (2016) Tamm Review: are fuel treatments effective at achieving ecological and social objectives? A systematic review. Forest Ecology and Management 375, 84–95.
| Tamm Review: are fuel treatments effective at achieving ecological and social objectives? A systematic review.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kolb TE, Agee JK, Fulé PZ, McDowell NG, Pearson K, Sala A, Waring RH (2007) Perpetuating old ponderosa pine. Forest Ecology and Management 249, 141–157.
| Perpetuating old ponderosa pine.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Lang DM, Stewart SS (1910) Reconnaissance of the Kaibab National Forest [unpublished report on file at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA].
Martinson EJ, Omi PN (2013) Fuel treatments and fire severity: a meta-analysis. RMRS RP-103WWW. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, p. 33–35. (Fort Collins, CO)
Meyer MD (2015) Forest fire severity patterns of resource objective wildfires in the Southern Sierra Nevada. Journal of Forestry 113, 49–56.
| Forest fire severity patterns of resource objective wildfires in the Southern Sierra Nevada.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
North MP, Stephens SL, Collins BM, Agee JK, Aplet G, Franklin JF, Fulé PZ (2015) Reform forest fire management: agency incentives undermine policy effectiveness. Science 349, 1280–1281.
| Reform forest fire management: agency incentives undermine policy effectiveness.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 26383934PubMed |
O’Connor CD, Falk DA, Lynch AM, Swetnam TW (2014) Fire severity, size, and climate associations diverge from historical precedent along an ecological gradient in the Pinaleño Mountains, Arizona, USA. Forest Ecology and Management 329, 264–278.
| Fire severity, size, and climate associations diverge from historical precedent along an ecological gradient in the Pinaleño Mountains, Arizona, USA.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
O’Donnell FC, Flatley WT, Springer AE, Fulé PZ (2018) Forest restoration as a strategy to mitigate climate impacts on wildfire, vegetation, and water in semiarid forest. Ecological Applications 28, 1459–1472.
| Forest restoration as a strategy to mitigate climate impacts on wildfire, vegetation, and water in semiarid forest.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 29939455PubMed |
Owen SM, Sieg CH, Sánchez Meador AJ, Fulé PZ, Iniguez JM, Baggett SL, Fornwalt PJ, Battagliac MA (2017) Spatial patterns of ponderosa pine regeneration in high-severity burn patches. Forest Ecology and Management 405, 134–149.
| Spatial patterns of ponderosa pine regeneration in high-severity burn patches.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Robinne F-N, Burns J, Kent P, Flannigan MD, Kleine M, de Groot B, Wotton DM (2018) Global fire challenges in a warming world. IUFRO Occasional Paper No. 32. (International Union of Forest Research Organizations: Vienna)
Roccaforte JP, Huffman DW, Fulé PZ, Covington WW, Chancellor WW, Stoddard MT, Crouse JE (2015) Forest structure and fuels dynamics following ponderosa pine restoration treatments, White Mountains, Arizona, USA. Forest Ecology and Management 337, 174–185.
| Forest structure and fuels dynamics following ponderosa pine restoration treatments, White Mountains, Arizona, USA.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Shive KL, Sieg CH, Fulé PZ (2013) Pre-wildfire management treatments interact with fire severity to have lasting effects on post-wildfire vegetation response. Forest Ecology and Management 297, 75–83.
| Pre-wildfire management treatments interact with fire severity to have lasting effects on post-wildfire vegetation response.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Singleton MP, Thode AE, Sánchez Meador AJ, Iniguez JM (2019) Increasing trends in high-severity fire in the southwestern USA from 1984 to 2015. Forest Ecology and Management 433, 709–719.
| Increasing trends in high-severity fire in the southwestern USA from 1984 to 2015.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Stephens SL, Gill SJ (2005) Forest structure and mortality in an old-growth Jeffrey pine-mixed conifer forest in Northwestern Mexico. Forest Ecology and Management 205, 15–28.
| Forest structure and mortality in an old-growth Jeffrey pine-mixed conifer forest in Northwestern Mexico.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Stephens SL, Agee JK, Fulé PZ, North MP, Romme WH, Swetnam TW, Turner MG (2013) Managing forests and fire in changing climates. Science 342, 41–42.
| Managing forests and fire in changing climates.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 24092714PubMed |
Stephens SL, Collins BM, Biber E, Fulé PZ (2016) U.S. federal fire and forest policy: emphasizing resilience in dry forests. Ecosphere 7, 1–19.
| U.S. federal fire and forest policy: emphasizing resilience in dry forests.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Stevens-Rumann CS, Kemp KB, Higuera PE, Harvey BJ, Rother MT, Donato DC, Morgan P, Veblen TT (2018) Evidence for declining forest resilience to wildfires under climate change. Ecology Letters 21, 243–252.
| Evidence for declining forest resilience to wildfires under climate change.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 29230936PubMed |
Stoddard MT, Huffman DW, Fulé PZ, Crouse JC, Sánchez Meador AJ (2018) Forest structure and regeneration response 15 years after wildfire in a ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer ecotone, Arizona, USA. Fire Ecology 14, –12.
| Forest structure and regeneration response 15 years after wildfire in a ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer ecotone, Arizona, USA.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Strahan RT, Sánchez Meador AJ, Huffman DW, Laughlin DC (2016) Shifts in community-level traits and functional diversity in a mixed conifer forest: a legacy of land-use change. Journal of Applied Ecology 53, 1755–1765.
| Shifts in community-level traits and functional diversity in a mixed conifer forest: a legacy of land-use change.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Swetnam TW, Baisan CH, Kaib JM (2001) Forest fire histories of the sky islands of La Frontera. In ‘Changing plant life of La Frontera: observations on vegetation in the United States/Mexico Borderlands’. (Eds GL Webster, CJ Bahre) pp. 95–123 (University of New Mexico Press: Albuquerque, NM)
Timberlake TJ, Schultz CA (2017) Policy, practice, and partnerships for climate change adaptation on US national forests. Climatic Change 144, 257–269.
| Policy, practice, and partnerships for climate change adaptation on US national forests.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Turner MG (1989) Landscape ecology: the effect of pattern on process. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 20, 171–197.
| Landscape ecology: the effect of pattern on process.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
USDOI NPS (2012) ‘Grand Canyon National Park fire management plan.’ (U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, AZ, USA)
van Mantgem PJ, Stephenson NL, Byrne JC, Daniels LD, Franklin JF, Fulé PZ, Harmon ME, Larson AJ, Smith JM, Taylor AH, Veblen TT (2009) Widespread increase of tree mortality rates in the western United States. Science 323, 521–524.
| Widespread increase of tree mortality rates in the western United States.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 19164752PubMed |
Waltz AE, Stoddard MT, Kalies EL, Springer JD, Huffman DW, Sánchez Meador AJ (2014) Effectiveness of fuel reduction treatments: assessing metrics of forest resiliency and wildfire severity after the Wallow Fire, AZ. Forest Ecology and Management 334, 43–52.
| Effectiveness of fuel reduction treatments: assessing metrics of forest resiliency and wildfire severity after the Wallow Fire, AZ.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Yocom-Kent LL, Fulé PZ, Bunn WA, Gdula E (2015) Historical high-severity fire patches in mixed-conifer forests. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 45, 1587–1596.
| Historical high-severity fire patches in mixed-conifer forests.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Youngblood A (2001) Old-growth forest structure in eastern Oregon and Washington. Northwest Science 75, 110–118.
Youngblood A, Grace JB, McIver JD (2009) Delayed conifer mortality after fuel reduction treatments: interactive effects of fuel, fire intensity, and bark beetles. Ecological Applications 19, 321–337.
| Delayed conifer mortality after fuel reduction treatments: interactive effects of fuel, fire intensity, and bark beetles.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 19323193PubMed |
Zald HSJ, Gray AN, North M, Kern RA (2008) Initial tree regeneration responses to fire and thinning treatments in a Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest, USA. Forest Ecology and Management 256, 168–179.
| Initial tree regeneration responses to fire and thinning treatments in a Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest, USA.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Zegler TJ, Moore MM, Fairweather ML, Ireland KB, Fulé PZ (2012) Populus tremuloides mortality near the southwestern edge of its range. Forest Ecology and Management 282, 196–207.
| Populus tremuloides mortality near the southwestern edge of its range.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
