A comparison of charcoal reflectance between crown and surface fire contexts in dry south-west USA forests
Christopher I. Roos A C and Andrew C. Scott BA Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University, Box 750336, Dallas, TX 75275-0336 USA.
B Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK.
C Corresponding author. Email: croos@smu.edu
International Journal of Wildland Fire 27(6) 396-406 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF17139
Submitted: 1 September 2017 Accepted: 17 April 2018 Published: 8 May 2018
Journal compilation © IAWF 2018 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND
Abstract
The historical and modern importance of crown fires in ponderosa pine and dry mixed-conifer forests of the south-west USA has been much debated. The microscopic reflectance of charcoal in polished blocks under oil shows promise as a semiquantitative proxy for fire severity using charcoal from post-fire landscapes. We measured the reflectance of 33 modern charcoal samples to evaluate (1) whether charcoal reflectance can distinguish between crown fires and surface fires in these forests; and (2) whether surface fires with masticated fuels burn with severities similar to surface fires in grass, litter and duff fuels. The charcoal analysed was primarily collected after wildland fires under two different conditions: (l) wildfires with moderate to high severity and crown fire behaviour (n = 17), and (2) prescribed fires with low to moderate severity but no crown fire behaviour (n = 16). Statistical analysis indicates that charcoal reflectance produced in crown fires significantly differs from surface fire charcoal, particularly surface fire charcoal formed in grass, duff and litter fuels. However, charcoal produced from surface fires in masticated fuels is indistinguishable from crown fire charcoal, suggesting that fires in areas that have experienced in situ mastication may have soil impacts similar to crown fires.
Additional keywords: charcoal analysis, dry mixed-conifer forests, ponderosa pine forests.
References
Allen CD, Savage M, Falk DA, Suckling KF, Swetnam TW, Schulke T, Stacey PB, Morgan P, Hoffman M, Klingel JT (2002) Ecological restoration of south-western ponderosa pine ecosystems. Ecological Applications 12, 1418–1433.| Ecological restoration of south-western ponderosa pine ecosystems.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ascough PL, Bird MI, Scott AC, Collinson ME, Cohen-Ofri I, Snape CE, Le Manquais K (2010) Charcoal reflectance measurements: implications for structural characterization and assessment of diagenetic alteration. Journal of Archaeological Science 37, 1590–1599.
| Charcoal reflectance measurements: implications for structural characterization and assessment of diagenetic alteration.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Baker WL, Ehle D (2001) Uncertainty in surface-fire history: the case of ponderosa pine forests in the western United States. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 31, 1205–1226.
| Uncertainty in surface-fire history: the case of ponderosa pine forests in the western United States.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Belcher CM, Hudspith VA (2016) The formation of charcoal reflectance and its potential use in post-fire assessments. International Journal of Wildland Fire 25, 775–779.
| The formation of charcoal reflectance and its potential use in post-fire assessments.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Bigio E, Swetnam TW, Baisan CH (2010) A comparison and integration of tree-ring and alluvial records of fire history at the Missionary Ridge Fire, Durango, Colorado, USA. The Holocene 20, 1047–1061.
| A comparison and integration of tree-ring and alluvial records of fire history at the Missionary Ridge Fire, Durango, Colorado, USA.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Bigio ER, Swetnam TW, Baisan CH (2016) Local-scale and regional climate controls on historical fire regimes in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado. Forest Ecology and Management 360, 311–322.
| Local-scale and regional climate controls on historical fire regimes in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Bigio ER, Swetnam TW, Pearthree PA (2017) Late Holocene fire–climate relationships of the western San Juan Mountains, Colorado. International Journal of Wildland Fire 26, 944–962.
| Late Holocene fire–climate relationships of the western San Juan Mountains, Colorado.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Brown DE (Ed.) (1994) ‘Biotic communities: south-western United States and north-western Mexico.’ (University of Utah Press: Salt Lake City, UT, USA)
Busse MD, Hubbert KR, Fiddler GO, Shestak CJ, Powers RF (2005) Lethal soil temperatures during burning of masticated forest residues. International Journal of Wildland Fire 14, 267–276.
| Lethal soil temperatures during burning of masticated forest residues.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Cohen-Ofri I, Weiner L, Boaretto E, Mintz G, Weiner S (2006) Modern and fossil charcoal: aspects of structure and diagenesis. Journal of Archaeological Science 33, 428–439.
| Modern and fossil charcoal: aspects of structure and diagenesis.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Covington WW (2003) The evolutionary and historical context. In ‘Ecological restoration of south-western ponderosa pine forests’. (Ed. P Friederici) pp. 26–47. (Island Press: Washington, DC, USA)
Covington WW, Moore MM (1994) South-western ponderosa pine forest structure and resource conditions: changes since Euro-American settlement. Journal of Forestry 92, 39–47.
Covington WW, Vosick DJ (2003) Key concepts and questions in adaptive ecosystem restoration of ponderosa pine forest ecosystems. In ‘Ecological restoration of south-western ponderosa pine forests’. (Ed. P Friederici) pp. 429–431. (Island Press: Washington, DC, USA)
Covington WW, Fulé PZ, Hart SC, Weaver RP (2001) Modeling ecological restoration effects on ponderosa pine forest structure. Restoration Ecology 9, 421–431.
| Modeling ecological restoration effects on ponderosa pine forest structure.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
DeBano LF, Neary DG, Ffolliott PF (1998) ‘Fire’s effects on ecosystems.’ (Jon Wiley & Sons Inc.: New York)
Falk DA (2004) Scaling rules for fire regimes. PhD thesis, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Falk DA, Miller C, McKenzie D, Black AE (2007) Cross-scale analysis of fire regimes. Ecosystems 10, 809–823.
| Cross-scale analysis of fire regimes.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Falk DA, Heyerdahl EK, Brown PM, Farris C, Fulé PZ, McKenzie D, Swetnam TW, Taylor AH, van Horne ML (2011) Multi-scale controls of historical forest-fire regimes: new insights from fire-scar networks. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 9, 446–454.
| Multi-scale controls of historical forest-fire regimes: new insights from fire-scar networks.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fitch EP, Meyer GA (2016) Temporal and spatial climatic controls on Holocene fire-related erosion and sedimentation, Jemez Mountains, New Mexico. Quaternary Research 85, 75–86.
| Temporal and spatial climatic controls on Holocene fire-related erosion and sedimentation, Jemez Mountains, New Mexico.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Frechette JD, Meyer GA (2009) Holocene fire-related alluvial-fan deposition and climate in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests, Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico, USA. The Holocene 19, 639–651.
| Holocene fire-related alluvial-fan deposition and climate in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests, Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico, USA.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fulé PZ, Covington WW, Moore MM (1997) Determining reference conditions for ecosystem management of south-western ponderosa pine forests. Ecological Applications 7, 895–908.
| Determining reference conditions for ecosystem management of south-western ponderosa pine forests.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fulé PZ, Covington WW, Stoddard MT, Bertolette D (2006) ‘Minimal‐impact’ restoration treatments have limited effects on forest structure and fuels at Grand Canyon, USA. Restoration Ecology 14, 357–368.
| ‘Minimal‐impact’ restoration treatments have limited effects on forest structure and fuels at Grand Canyon, USA.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fulé PZ, Swetnam TW, Brown PM, Falk DA, Peterson DL, Allen CD, Aplet GH, Battaglia MA, Binkley D, Farris C (2014) Unsupported inferences of high‐severity fire in historical dry forests of the western United States: response to Williams and Baker. Global Ecology and Biogeography 23, 825–830.
| Unsupported inferences of high‐severity fire in historical dry forests of the western United States: response to Williams and Baker.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Goldberg P, Macphail RI (2003) Strategies and techniques in collecting micromorphology samples. Geoarchaeology 18, 571–578.
| Strategies and techniques in collecting micromorphology samples.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Grissino Mayer HD, Swetnam TW (2000) Century-scale climate forcing of fire regimes in the American Southwest. The Holocene 10, 213–220.
| Century-scale climate forcing of fire regimes in the American Southwest.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Guiterman CH, Margolis EQ, Allen CD, Falk DA, Swetnam TW (2017) Long-term persistence and fire resilience of oak shrubfields in dry conifer forests of northern New Mexico. Ecosystems
| Long-term persistence and fire resilience of oak shrubfields in dry conifer forests of northern New Mexico.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hudspith VA, Belcher CM (2017) Observations of the structural changes that occur during charcoalification: implications for identifying charcoal in the fossil record. Palaeontology 60, 503–510.
| Observations of the structural changes that occur during charcoalification: implications for identifying charcoal in the fossil record.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hudspith VA, Belcher CM, Yearsley JM (2014) Charring temperatures are driven by the fuel types burned in a peatland wildfire. Frontiers in Plant Science 5, 714
| Charring temperatures are driven by the fuel types burned in a peatland wildfire.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hudspith VA, Belcher CM, Kelly R, Hu FS (2015) Charcoal reflectance reveals early Holocene boreal deciduous forests burned at high intensities. PLoS One 10, e0120835
| Charcoal reflectance reveals early Holocene boreal deciduous forests burned at high intensities.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hudspith VA, Belcher CM, Barnes J, Dash CB, Kelly R, Hu FS (2017) Charcoal reflectance suggests heating duration and fuel moisture affected burn severity in four Alaskan tundra wildfires. International Journal of Wildland Fire 26, 306–316.
| Charcoal reflectance suggests heating duration and fuel moisture affected burn severity in four Alaskan tundra wildfires.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Jones TP, Scott AC, Cope M (1991) Reflectance measurements and the temperature of formation of modern charcoals and implications for studies of fusain. Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France 162, 193–200.
Kane JM, Varner JM, Knapp EE (2009) Novel fuelbed characteristics associated with mechanical mastication treatments in northern California and south-western Oregon, USA. International Journal of Wildland Fire 18, 686–697.
| Novel fuelbed characteristics associated with mechanical mastication treatments in northern California and south-western Oregon, USA.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Keeley JE (2009) Fire intensity, fire severity and burn severity: a brief review and suggested usage. International Journal of Wildland Fire 18, 116–126.
| Fire intensity, fire severity and burn severity: a brief review and suggested usage.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Knapp EE, Varner JM, Busse MD, Skinner CN, Shestak CJ (2011) Behaviour and effects of prescribed fire in masticated fuelbeds. International Journal of Wildland Fire 20, 932–945.
| Behaviour and effects of prescribed fire in masticated fuelbeds.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kreye JK, Brewer NW, Morgan P, Varner JM, Smith AMS, Hoffman CM, Ottmar RD (2014) Fire behavior in masticated fuels: a review. Forest Ecology and Management 314, 193–207.
| Fire behavior in masticated fuels: a review.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Liebmann MJ, Farella J, Roos CI, Stack A, Martini S, Swetnam TW (2016) Native American depopulation, reforestation, and fire regimes in the south-west United States, 1492–1900 CE. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113, E696–E704.
| Native American depopulation, reforestation, and fire regimes in the south-west United States, 1492–1900 CE.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC28XhtlamtLY%3D&md5=976a91c1db3504c3f30e374c25c3d890CAS |
Mann HB, Whitney DR (1947) On a test of whether one of two random variables is stochastically larger than the other. Annals of Mathematical Statistics 18, 50–60.
| On a test of whether one of two random variables is stochastically larger than the other.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Mastrolonardo G, Hudspith VA, Francioso O, Rumpel C, Montecchio D, Doerr SH, Certini G (2017) Size fractionation as a tool for separating charcoal of different fuel source and recalcitrance in the wildfire ash layer. The Science of the Total Environment 595, 461–471.
| Size fractionation as a tool for separating charcoal of different fuel source and recalcitrance in the wildfire ash layer.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC2sXlvVKms7k%3D&md5=62ebb3c263cc4ca365da4d56f040b8faCAS |
McParland LC, Collinson ME, Scott AC, Steart DC, Grassineau NV, Gibbons SJ (2007) Ferns and fires: experimental charring of ferns compared to wood and implications for paleobiology, paleoecology, coal petrology, and isotope geochemistry. Palaios 22, 528–538.
| Ferns and fires: experimental charring of ferns compared to wood and implications for paleobiology, paleoecology, coal petrology, and isotope geochemistry.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
McParland LC, Collinson ME, Scott AC, Campbell G (2009a) The use of reflectance values for the interpretation of natural and anthropogenic charcoal assemblages. Archaeological and Anthropologial Sciences 1, 249-261
| The use of reflectance values for the interpretation of natural and anthropogenic charcoal assemblages.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
McParland LC, Hazell Z, Campbell G, Collinson ME, Scott AC (2009b) How the Romans got themselves into hot water: temperatures and fuel types used in firing a hypocaust. Environmental Archaeology 14, 176–183.
| How the Romans got themselves into hot water: temperatures and fuel types used in firing a hypocaust.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
McParland LC, Collinson ME, Scott AC, Campbell G, Veal R (2010) Is vitrification in charcoal a result of high-temperature burning of wood? Journal of Archaeological Science 37, 2679–2687.
| Is vitrification in charcoal a result of high-temperature burning of wood?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Nichols GJ, Cripps JA, Collinson ME, Scott AC (2000) Experiments in waterlogging and sedimentology of charcoal: results and implications. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 164, 43–56.
| Experiments in waterlogging and sedimentology of charcoal: results and implications.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Odion DC, Hanson CT, Arsenault A, Baker WL, DellaSala DA, Hutto RL, Klenner W, Moritz MA, Sherriff RL, Veblen TT (2014) Examining historical and current mixed-severity fire regimes in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests of western North America. PLoS One 9, e87852
| Examining historical and current mixed-severity fire regimes in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests of western North America.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ohlson M, Tryterud E (2000) Interpretation of the charcoal record in forest soils: forest fires and their production and deposition of macroscopic charcoal. The Holocene 10, 519–525.
| Interpretation of the charcoal record in forest soils: forest fires and their production and deposition of macroscopic charcoal.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Ott RL, Longnecker MT (2001) ‘An introduction to statistical methods and data analysis.’ (Duxbury: Pacific Grove, CA, USA)
Reiner AL, Vaillant NM, Fites-Kaufman J, Dailey SN (2009) Mastication and prescribed fire impacts on fuels in a 25-year old ponderosa pine plantation, southern Sierra Nevada. Forest Ecology and Management 258, 2365–2372.
| Mastication and prescribed fire impacts on fuels in a 25-year old ponderosa pine plantation, southern Sierra Nevada.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Roos CI (2008) Fire, climate, and social-ecological systems in the ancient Southwest: alluvial geoarchaeology and applied historical ecology. PhD thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
Roos CI (2015) Western Apache pyrogenic placemaking in the mountains of eastern Arizona. In ‘Engineering mountain landscapes: an anthropology of social investment’. (Eds LL Scheiber, MN Zedeño) pp. 116–125. (University of Utah Press: Salt Lake City, UT, USA)
Roos CI, Sullivan AP, III, McNamee C (2010) Paleoecological evidence for indigenous burning in the Upland South-west. In ‘The Archaeology of anthropogenic environments.’ (Ed. RM Dean) pp. 142–171. (Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University: Carbondale, IL, USA)
Safford HD, Miller J, Schmidt D, Roath B, Parsons A (2008) BAER soil burn severity maps do not measure fire effects to vegetation: a comment on Odion and Hanson (2006). Ecosystems 11, 1–11.
| BAER soil burn severity maps do not measure fire effects to vegetation: a comment on Odion and Hanson (2006).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Scott AC (1989) Observations on the nature and origin of fusain. International Journal of Coal Geology 12, 443–475.
| Observations on the nature and origin of fusain.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DyaL1MXmtlKgsbg%3D&md5=7a78b08765f9eede18a4480a09dce6fdCAS |
Scott AC (2000) The pre-Quaternary history of fire. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 164, 281–329.
| The pre-Quaternary history of fire.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Scott AC (2010) Charcoal recognition, taphonomy and uses in palaeoenvironmental analysis. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 291, 11–39.
| Charcoal recognition, taphonomy and uses in palaeoenvironmental analysis.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Scott AC, Glasspool IJ (2005) Charcoal reflectance as a proxy for the emplacement temperature of pyroclastic flow deposits. Geology 33, 589–592.
| Charcoal reflectance as a proxy for the emplacement temperature of pyroclastic flow deposits.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BD2MXmtlWltLc%3D&md5=28bc436ccda4d72e0fd560fa7c130250CAS |
Scott AC, Jones TP (1991) Microscopical observations of recent and fossil charcoal. Microscopy and Analysis 24, 13–15.
Scott AC, Jones TP (1994) The nature and influence of fire in Carboniferous ecosystems. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 106, 91–112.
| The nature and influence of fire in Carboniferous ecosystems.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Shennan S (1997) ‘Quantifying archaeology.’ (University of Iowa Press: Iowa City, IA, USA)
Stephens SL, Moghaddas JJ (2005) Experimental fuel treatment impacts on forest structure, potential fire behavior, and predicted tree mortality in a California mixed conifer forest. Forest Ecology and Management 215, 21–36.
| Experimental fuel treatment impacts on forest structure, potential fire behavior, and predicted tree mortality in a California mixed conifer forest.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Swetnam TW, Baisan CH (1996) Historical fire regime patterns in the south-western United States since AD 1700. In ‘Fire effects in south-western forests. Proceedings of the second La Mesa fire symposium, Los Alamos, New Mexico’, 29–31 March 1994. (Ed. CD Allen.) pp. 11–32. (USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station: Fort Collins, CO, USA)
Swetnam TW, Baisan CH (2003) Tree-ring reconstructions of fire and climate history of the Sierra Nevada and south-western United States. In ‘Fire and climate change in temperate ecosystems of the Western Americas’. (Eds TT Veblen, CM Baker, G Montenegro, TW Swetnam) pp. 158–195. (Springer: New York)
Swetnam TW, Allen CD, Betancourt JL (1999) Applied historical ecology: using the past to manage for the future. Ecological Applications 9, 1189–1206.
| Applied historical ecology: using the past to manage for the future.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Swetnam TW, Farella J, Roos CI, Liebmann MJ, Falk DA, Allen CD (2016) Multiscale perspectives of fire, climate and humans in western North America and the Jemez Mountains, USA. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 371, 20150168
| Multiscale perspectives of fire, climate and humans in western North America and the Jemez Mountains, USA.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Touchan R, Allen CD, Swetnam TW (1996) Fire history and climatic patterns in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests of the Jemez Mountains, Northern New Mexico. In ‘Fire effects in south-western forests: proceedings of the second La Mesa fire symposium, Los Alamos, New Mexico’, 29–31 March 1994. (Ed. CD Allen) pp. 33–46. (USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station: Fort Collins, CO, USA)
Veal R, O’Donnell L, McParland L (2016) Reflectance – current state of research and future directions for archaeological charcoal; results from a pilot study on Irish Bronze Age cremation charcoals. Journal of Archaeological Science 75, 72–81.
| Reflectance – current state of research and future directions for archaeological charcoal; results from a pilot study on Irish Bronze Age cremation charcoals.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DC%2BC28XhslGrs77P&md5=c66ff36cdbcf7444cf0c500ef4f2ab74CAS |
Whitlock C, Higuera PE, McWethy DB, Briles CE (2010) Paleoecological perspectives on fire ecology: revisiting the fire-regime concept. The Open Ecology Journal 3, 6–23.
| Paleoecological perspectives on fire ecology: revisiting the fire-regime concept.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |