ii The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that a... more ii The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public.
The Klamath-Siskiyou region of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon supports globally ... more The Klamath-Siskiyou region of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon supports globally outstanding temperate biodiversity. Fire has been important in the evolutionary history that shaped this diversity, but recent human influences have altered the fire environment. We tested for modern human impacts on the fire regime by analyzing temporal patterns in fire extent and spatial patterns of fire severity in relation to vegetation structure, past fire occurrence, roads, and timber management in a 98,814-ha area burned in 1987. Fire severity was mapped by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service as low, moderate, and high based on levels of canopy scorch and consumption. We found (1) a trend of increasing fire size in recent decades; (2) that overall fire-severity proportions were 59% low, 29% moderate, and 12% high, which is comparable to both contemporary and historic fires in the region; (3) that multiaged, closed forests, the predominant vegetation, burned with much lower severity than did open forest and shrubby nonforest vegetation; (4) that considerably less high-severity fire occurred where fire had previously be absent since 1920 in closed forests compared to where the forests had burned since 1920 (7% vs. 16%); (5) that nonforest vegetation burned with greater severity where there was a history of fire since 1920 and in roaded areas; and (6) that tree plantations experienced twice as much severe fire as multi-aged forests. We concluded that fuel buildup in the absence of fire did not cause increased fire severity as hypothesized. Instead, fuel that is receptive to combustion may decrease in the long absence of fire in the closed forests of our study area, which will favor the fire regime that has maintained these forests. However, plantations are now found in one-third of the roaded landscape. Together with warming climate, this may increase the size and severity of future fires, favoring further establishment of structurally and biologically simple plantations. Patrones de Severidad de Fuego y Condiciones del Bosque en las Montañas Klamath Occidentales, California Resumen: La region Klamath-Siskiyou (Noroeste de California y Suroeste de Oregon) sostiene una biodiversidad templada globalmente sobresaliente. El fuego ha sido importante en la historia evolutiva que moldeó a esta diversidad, sin embargo, influencias humanas recientes han alterado el ambiente del fuego. Probamos los impactos humanos modernos sobre el régimen de fuego analizando los patrones temporales de la extensión del fuego y los patrones de severidad del fuego en relación con la estructura de la vegetación, incidencia de fuego en el pasado, caminos y manejo de madera en unárea de 98,814 ha quemada en 1987. La severidad del fuego fue clasificada en el mapa por el Servicio Forestal de EE. UU. como baja, moderada o alta tomando en cuenta el grado de chamuscado y consumo del dosel. Encontramos (1) que hubo una tendencia hacia un aumento del tamaño del fuego en décadas recientes; (2) que las proporciones totales de severidad de fuego fueron: 59% bajo, Fire Severity in the Western Klamath-Siskiyou Odion et al. 29% moderado y 12% alto (lo cual es comparable tanto para incendios contemporáneos como históricos en la región); (3) que los bosques cerrados, de edades múltiples, la vegetación predominante, se quemó mucho menos severamente que los bosques abiertos y la vegetación arbustiva no boscosa.; (4) que hubo considerablemente menos fuego de alta intensidad donde no habían ocurrido incendios en bosques cerrados desde 1920 en comparación con bosques que se han quemado desde 1920 (7% vs. 16%); (5) que la vegetación no boscosa se quemó con mayor severidad donde había una historia de fuego desde 1920 y enáreas con caminos; y (6) que las plantaciones deárboles tenían dos veces la cantidad de fuego severo que los bosques de edades múltiples. Concluimos que la acumulación de combustible en ausencia de fuego no causó incremento en la severidad del fuego, como se planteó. En cambio, el combustible que es receptivo a la combustión puede disminuir en la larga ausencia de fuego en los bosques cerrados de nuestraárea de estudio. Esto favorecerá al régimen con fuego que ha mantenido a estos bosques. Sin embargo, las plantaciones se encuentran en un tercio del paisaje con caminos. En combinación con el calentamiento del clima, esto puede incrementar el tamaño y severidad de futuros incendios, lo que favorecerá el establecimiento de plantaciones estructural y biológicamente simples. Palabras Clave:áreas sin caminos, intensidad de fuego, maderas duras, Pino de Douglas, regímenes de fuego, región Klamath-Siskiyou, silvicultura
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's recent recovery plan for one of the most carefully watched t... more The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's recent recovery plan for one of the most carefully watched threatened species worldwide, the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina), recommended a major departure in conservation strategies in the northwestern United States. Due to concern about fire, the plan would switch from a reserve to a no-reserve strategy in up to 52% of the owl's range. Fuel treatments (e.g., thinning) at regular intervals also would occur on up to 65-70% of dry forests in this area. Estimations of fire risk, however, were based on less than a decade of data and an anecdotal assessment of a single, large fire. We found that decadal data are inherently too short, given infrequent large fires, to accurately predict fire risk and trends. Rates of high-severity fire, based on remote-sensing data, are far lower than reported in the plan and in comparison with the rate of old-forest recruitment. In addition, over a 22-year period, there has been no increase in the proportion of high-severity fire. Our findings refute the key conclusions of the plan that are the basis for major changes in conservation strategies for the Spotted Owl. The best available science is needed to address these strategies in an adaptive-management framework. From the standpoint of fire risk, there appears to be ample time for research on fire and proposed treatment effects on Spotted Owls before designing extensive management actions or eliminating reserves.
Cattle Grazing in Southeastern Sierran Meadows: Ecosystem Change and Prospects for Recovery DENNI... more Cattle Grazing in Southeastern Sierran Meadows: Ecosystem Change and Prospects for Recovery DENNIS С ODION Department of Geography University of California Santa Barbara, California 93107 TOM L. DUDLEY and CARLA M. D'ANTONIO Department of Biological ...
Times Cited: 0 75TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA ON PERSPECTIVES IN ECOLOG... more Times Cited: 0 75TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA ON PERSPECTIVES IN ECOLOGY: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE, SNOWBIRD, UTAH, USA, JULY 29-AUGUST 2, 1990. BULL ECOL SOC AM.
ii The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that a... more ii The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public.
Morro manazanita (Arctostaphylos morroensis) is a distinctive shrub restricted to a small area al... more Morro manazanita (Arctostaphylos morroensis) is a distinctive shrub restricted to a small area along the coast of California, USA. This endangered species faces two opposing fire-related extinction risks: (1) adults are killed by fire, and (2) recruitment opportunities only occur with fire. These strongly limit the capacity of this, as well as other obligate-seeding species, to recover from a population
ii The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that a... more ii The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public.
The National Park Service Vegetation Inventory Program funded an effort, beginning in 2009, to cl... more The National Park Service Vegetation Inventory Program funded an effort, beginning in 2009, to classify and map the vegetation at Oregon Caves National Monument and its proposed expansion area (inclusive of the headwaters of Cave and Lake Creeks). Southern Oregon University staff performed the inventory work. The Klamath Network, Inventory and Monitoring Program coordinated the effort. To classify the vegetation, we sampled 142 representative classification plots throughout the 1,820.8 hectare (4,499.3 acre) project area using traditional phytosociological methods (i.e., relevé sampling). The relevé plots were located and sampled primarily in 2009 and 2010. We identified 397 different vascular plant species in the classification plots, including many that were not previously recorded on the monument’s species list. We classified the plot data into 34 plant associations using accepted statistical analyses. A key to the plant associations and description of each association are provid...
To characterize the condition and trends in priority natural resources in Lava Beds National Monu... more To characterize the condition and trends in priority natural resources in Lava Beds National Monument, we compiled existing data and information. This report and the spatial datasets provided with it is intended to inform and support park managers and scientists in developing recommendations for improving or maintaining natural resource conditions in the park. It also can assist park resource managers in meeting the reporting requirements of the Government Performance Results Act and Office of Management and Budget. In attempts to describe the current condition and trends for each of the park’s natural resources of concern, we followed generally the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Framework for Assessing and Reporting on Ecological Condition” (Young and Sanzone 2002). Specifically, we first identified seven natural resource themes considered by this park’s managers and scientists to be most important. They are: • Changes in Climate and Microclimate (including ice and groundwater)...
We compiled existing data and information to characterize the condition and trends in priority na... more We compiled existing data and information to characterize the condition and trends in priority natural resources in Lassen Volcanic National Park. This report and the spatial datasets provided with it is intended to inform and support park managers and scientists in developing recommendations for improving or maintaining natural resource conditions in the park. It also can assist park resource managers in meeting the reporting requirements of the Government Performance Results Act and Office of Management and Budget. In attempts to describe the current condition and trends for the park’s natural resources of concern, we followed generally the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Framework for Assessing and Reporting on Ecological Condition” (Young and Sanzone 2002). Specifically, we first identified six natural resource themes considered by this park’s managers and scientists to be most important. They are: Precipitation, Snowpack, and Water Availability Surface Waters and Their R...
We compiled existing data and information to characterize the condition and trends in high priori... more We compiled existing data and information to characterize the condition and trends in high priority natural resources in Crater Lake National Park. This report, and the spatial datasets provided with it, is intended to inform and support park managers and scientists in developing recommendations for improving or maintaining natural resource conditions in the park. It also can assist park resource managers in meeting the reporting requirements of the Government Performance Results Act and Office of Management and Budget. In attempts to describe the current condition and trends of the park’s natural resources, we followed generally the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Framework for Assessing and Reporting on Ecological Condition” (Young and Sanzone 2002). Specifically, we first identified seven natural resource themes considered by this park’s managers and scientists to be most important. They are: Precipitation, Temperature, Snowpack, and Lake Levels Surface Water Quality Aqu...
This report evaluates the general effects of forestry practices on biodiversity along streams in ... more This report evaluates the general effects of forestry practices on biodiversity along streams in the Pacific Northwest and northern California. There are four parts to the report. In Part I, we present concepts of biodiversity and the processes underlying it. Biodiversity is expressed as a general concept for species, habitat, and genetic diversity of all groups of organisms. We describe the interacting processes that govern riparian biodiversity by integrating those operating over large spatial extents, such as climate, with interrelated ones that have more localized influences, such as disturbance and habitat heterogeneity. The effects of forestry on biodiversity are then analyzed in the context of these controls, and how they are influenced by disturbances. We predict that habitat heterogeneity and retention of pre-disturbance biological legacies (trees, snags, logs, seed and spore banks that can be important to growth of populations of organisms after disturbance) are two of fou...
Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is the distinctive, often stunted, s and picturesque tree line ... more Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is the distinctive, often stunted, s and picturesque tree line species in the American West. As a result of climate change, mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae) have moved up in elevation, adding to nonnative e blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) disease as a major cause of a mortality in whitebark pine. At Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, whitebark pine is declining at the rate of 1% per year. The Klamath Network, National Park Service, has elected to monitor whitebark pine and associated high-elevation vegetation. This program is designed to sample whitebark pine throughout the park to look for geographic patterns in its exposure to and mortality from disease and beetles. First-year monitoring has uncovered interesting patterns in blister rust distribution. Incidence of rust disease was higher on the west side of the park, where conditions are relatively wetter and more humid, than on the east side. However, correlating climate alone w...
ii The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that a... more ii The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public.
The Klamath-Siskiyou region of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon supports globally ... more The Klamath-Siskiyou region of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon supports globally outstanding temperate biodiversity. Fire has been important in the evolutionary history that shaped this diversity, but recent human influences have altered the fire environment. We tested for modern human impacts on the fire regime by analyzing temporal patterns in fire extent and spatial patterns of fire severity in relation to vegetation structure, past fire occurrence, roads, and timber management in a 98,814-ha area burned in 1987. Fire severity was mapped by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service as low, moderate, and high based on levels of canopy scorch and consumption. We found (1) a trend of increasing fire size in recent decades; (2) that overall fire-severity proportions were 59% low, 29% moderate, and 12% high, which is comparable to both contemporary and historic fires in the region; (3) that multiaged, closed forests, the predominant vegetation, burned with much lower severity than did open forest and shrubby nonforest vegetation; (4) that considerably less high-severity fire occurred where fire had previously be absent since 1920 in closed forests compared to where the forests had burned since 1920 (7% vs. 16%); (5) that nonforest vegetation burned with greater severity where there was a history of fire since 1920 and in roaded areas; and (6) that tree plantations experienced twice as much severe fire as multi-aged forests. We concluded that fuel buildup in the absence of fire did not cause increased fire severity as hypothesized. Instead, fuel that is receptive to combustion may decrease in the long absence of fire in the closed forests of our study area, which will favor the fire regime that has maintained these forests. However, plantations are now found in one-third of the roaded landscape. Together with warming climate, this may increase the size and severity of future fires, favoring further establishment of structurally and biologically simple plantations. Patrones de Severidad de Fuego y Condiciones del Bosque en las Montañas Klamath Occidentales, California Resumen: La region Klamath-Siskiyou (Noroeste de California y Suroeste de Oregon) sostiene una biodiversidad templada globalmente sobresaliente. El fuego ha sido importante en la historia evolutiva que moldeó a esta diversidad, sin embargo, influencias humanas recientes han alterado el ambiente del fuego. Probamos los impactos humanos modernos sobre el régimen de fuego analizando los patrones temporales de la extensión del fuego y los patrones de severidad del fuego en relación con la estructura de la vegetación, incidencia de fuego en el pasado, caminos y manejo de madera en unárea de 98,814 ha quemada en 1987. La severidad del fuego fue clasificada en el mapa por el Servicio Forestal de EE. UU. como baja, moderada o alta tomando en cuenta el grado de chamuscado y consumo del dosel. Encontramos (1) que hubo una tendencia hacia un aumento del tamaño del fuego en décadas recientes; (2) que las proporciones totales de severidad de fuego fueron: 59% bajo, Fire Severity in the Western Klamath-Siskiyou Odion et al. 29% moderado y 12% alto (lo cual es comparable tanto para incendios contemporáneos como históricos en la región); (3) que los bosques cerrados, de edades múltiples, la vegetación predominante, se quemó mucho menos severamente que los bosques abiertos y la vegetación arbustiva no boscosa.; (4) que hubo considerablemente menos fuego de alta intensidad donde no habían ocurrido incendios en bosques cerrados desde 1920 en comparación con bosques que se han quemado desde 1920 (7% vs. 16%); (5) que la vegetación no boscosa se quemó con mayor severidad donde había una historia de fuego desde 1920 y enáreas con caminos; y (6) que las plantaciones deárboles tenían dos veces la cantidad de fuego severo que los bosques de edades múltiples. Concluimos que la acumulación de combustible en ausencia de fuego no causó incremento en la severidad del fuego, como se planteó. En cambio, el combustible que es receptivo a la combustión puede disminuir en la larga ausencia de fuego en los bosques cerrados de nuestraárea de estudio. Esto favorecerá al régimen con fuego que ha mantenido a estos bosques. Sin embargo, las plantaciones se encuentran en un tercio del paisaje con caminos. En combinación con el calentamiento del clima, esto puede incrementar el tamaño y severidad de futuros incendios, lo que favorecerá el establecimiento de plantaciones estructural y biológicamente simples. Palabras Clave:áreas sin caminos, intensidad de fuego, maderas duras, Pino de Douglas, regímenes de fuego, región Klamath-Siskiyou, silvicultura
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's recent recovery plan for one of the most carefully watched t... more The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's recent recovery plan for one of the most carefully watched threatened species worldwide, the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina), recommended a major departure in conservation strategies in the northwestern United States. Due to concern about fire, the plan would switch from a reserve to a no-reserve strategy in up to 52% of the owl's range. Fuel treatments (e.g., thinning) at regular intervals also would occur on up to 65-70% of dry forests in this area. Estimations of fire risk, however, were based on less than a decade of data and an anecdotal assessment of a single, large fire. We found that decadal data are inherently too short, given infrequent large fires, to accurately predict fire risk and trends. Rates of high-severity fire, based on remote-sensing data, are far lower than reported in the plan and in comparison with the rate of old-forest recruitment. In addition, over a 22-year period, there has been no increase in the proportion of high-severity fire. Our findings refute the key conclusions of the plan that are the basis for major changes in conservation strategies for the Spotted Owl. The best available science is needed to address these strategies in an adaptive-management framework. From the standpoint of fire risk, there appears to be ample time for research on fire and proposed treatment effects on Spotted Owls before designing extensive management actions or eliminating reserves.
Cattle Grazing in Southeastern Sierran Meadows: Ecosystem Change and Prospects for Recovery DENNI... more Cattle Grazing in Southeastern Sierran Meadows: Ecosystem Change and Prospects for Recovery DENNIS С ODION Department of Geography University of California Santa Barbara, California 93107 TOM L. DUDLEY and CARLA M. D'ANTONIO Department of Biological ...
Times Cited: 0 75TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA ON PERSPECTIVES IN ECOLOG... more Times Cited: 0 75TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA ON PERSPECTIVES IN ECOLOGY: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE, SNOWBIRD, UTAH, USA, JULY 29-AUGUST 2, 1990. BULL ECOL SOC AM.
ii The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that a... more ii The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public.
Morro manazanita (Arctostaphylos morroensis) is a distinctive shrub restricted to a small area al... more Morro manazanita (Arctostaphylos morroensis) is a distinctive shrub restricted to a small area along the coast of California, USA. This endangered species faces two opposing fire-related extinction risks: (1) adults are killed by fire, and (2) recruitment opportunities only occur with fire. These strongly limit the capacity of this, as well as other obligate-seeding species, to recover from a population
ii The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that a... more ii The National Park Service, Natural Resource Program Center publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public.
The National Park Service Vegetation Inventory Program funded an effort, beginning in 2009, to cl... more The National Park Service Vegetation Inventory Program funded an effort, beginning in 2009, to classify and map the vegetation at Oregon Caves National Monument and its proposed expansion area (inclusive of the headwaters of Cave and Lake Creeks). Southern Oregon University staff performed the inventory work. The Klamath Network, Inventory and Monitoring Program coordinated the effort. To classify the vegetation, we sampled 142 representative classification plots throughout the 1,820.8 hectare (4,499.3 acre) project area using traditional phytosociological methods (i.e., relevé sampling). The relevé plots were located and sampled primarily in 2009 and 2010. We identified 397 different vascular plant species in the classification plots, including many that were not previously recorded on the monument’s species list. We classified the plot data into 34 plant associations using accepted statistical analyses. A key to the plant associations and description of each association are provid...
To characterize the condition and trends in priority natural resources in Lava Beds National Monu... more To characterize the condition and trends in priority natural resources in Lava Beds National Monument, we compiled existing data and information. This report and the spatial datasets provided with it is intended to inform and support park managers and scientists in developing recommendations for improving or maintaining natural resource conditions in the park. It also can assist park resource managers in meeting the reporting requirements of the Government Performance Results Act and Office of Management and Budget. In attempts to describe the current condition and trends for each of the park’s natural resources of concern, we followed generally the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Framework for Assessing and Reporting on Ecological Condition” (Young and Sanzone 2002). Specifically, we first identified seven natural resource themes considered by this park’s managers and scientists to be most important. They are: • Changes in Climate and Microclimate (including ice and groundwater)...
We compiled existing data and information to characterize the condition and trends in priority na... more We compiled existing data and information to characterize the condition and trends in priority natural resources in Lassen Volcanic National Park. This report and the spatial datasets provided with it is intended to inform and support park managers and scientists in developing recommendations for improving or maintaining natural resource conditions in the park. It also can assist park resource managers in meeting the reporting requirements of the Government Performance Results Act and Office of Management and Budget. In attempts to describe the current condition and trends for the park’s natural resources of concern, we followed generally the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Framework for Assessing and Reporting on Ecological Condition” (Young and Sanzone 2002). Specifically, we first identified six natural resource themes considered by this park’s managers and scientists to be most important. They are: Precipitation, Snowpack, and Water Availability Surface Waters and Their R...
We compiled existing data and information to characterize the condition and trends in high priori... more We compiled existing data and information to characterize the condition and trends in high priority natural resources in Crater Lake National Park. This report, and the spatial datasets provided with it, is intended to inform and support park managers and scientists in developing recommendations for improving or maintaining natural resource conditions in the park. It also can assist park resource managers in meeting the reporting requirements of the Government Performance Results Act and Office of Management and Budget. In attempts to describe the current condition and trends of the park’s natural resources, we followed generally the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Framework for Assessing and Reporting on Ecological Condition” (Young and Sanzone 2002). Specifically, we first identified seven natural resource themes considered by this park’s managers and scientists to be most important. They are: Precipitation, Temperature, Snowpack, and Lake Levels Surface Water Quality Aqu...
This report evaluates the general effects of forestry practices on biodiversity along streams in ... more This report evaluates the general effects of forestry practices on biodiversity along streams in the Pacific Northwest and northern California. There are four parts to the report. In Part I, we present concepts of biodiversity and the processes underlying it. Biodiversity is expressed as a general concept for species, habitat, and genetic diversity of all groups of organisms. We describe the interacting processes that govern riparian biodiversity by integrating those operating over large spatial extents, such as climate, with interrelated ones that have more localized influences, such as disturbance and habitat heterogeneity. The effects of forestry on biodiversity are then analyzed in the context of these controls, and how they are influenced by disturbances. We predict that habitat heterogeneity and retention of pre-disturbance biological legacies (trees, snags, logs, seed and spore banks that can be important to growth of populations of organisms after disturbance) are two of fou...
Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is the distinctive, often stunted, s and picturesque tree line ... more Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is the distinctive, often stunted, s and picturesque tree line species in the American West. As a result of climate change, mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae) have moved up in elevation, adding to nonnative e blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) disease as a major cause of a mortality in whitebark pine. At Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, whitebark pine is declining at the rate of 1% per year. The Klamath Network, National Park Service, has elected to monitor whitebark pine and associated high-elevation vegetation. This program is designed to sample whitebark pine throughout the park to look for geographic patterns in its exposure to and mortality from disease and beetles. First-year monitoring has uncovered interesting patterns in blister rust distribution. Incidence of rust disease was higher on the west side of the park, where conditions are relatively wetter and more humid, than on the east side. However, correlating climate alone w...
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