Reduced fire severity offers near-term buffer to climate-driven declines in conifer resilience across the western United States

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 120(11)

Published: March 6, 2023

Increasing fire severity and warmer, drier postfire conditions are making forests in the western United States (West) vulnerable to ecological transformation. Yet, relative importance of interactions between these drivers forest change remain unresolved, particularly over upcoming decades. Here, we assess how interactive impacts changing climate wildfire activity influenced conifer regeneration after 334 wildfires, using a dataset from 10,230 field plots. Our findings highlight declining capacity across West past four decades for eight dominant species studied. Postfire is sensitive high-severity fire, which limits seed availability, climate, influences seedling establishment. In near-term, projected differences recruitment probability low- scenarios were larger than most species, suggesting that reductions severity, resultant on could partially offset expected climate-driven declines regeneration. Across 40 42% study area, project be likely following low-severity but not under future (2031 2050). However, increasingly warm, dry eventually outweigh influence availability. The percent area considered unlikely experience regeneration, regardless increased 5% 1981 2000 26 31% by mid-century, highlighting limited time window management actions reduce may effectively support

Language: Английский

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Tamm review: A meta-analysis of thinning, prescribed fire, and wildfire effects on subsequent wildfire severity in conifer dominated forests of the Western US

Forest Ecology and Management, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 561, P. 121885 - 121885

Published: April 5, 2024

Increased understanding of how mechanical thinning, prescribed burning, and wildfire affect subsequent severity is urgently needed as people forests face a growing crisis. In response, we reviewed scientific literature for the US West completed meta-analysis that answered three questions: (1) How much do treatments reduce within treated areas? (2) effects vary with treatment type, age, forest type? (3) does fire weather moderate treatments? We found overwhelming evidence thinning pile burning only are effective at reducing severity, resulting in reductions between 62% 72% relative to untreated areas. comparison, was less – underscoring importance treating surface fuels when mitigating management goal. The efficacy these did not among types assessed this study high across range conditions. Prior had more complex impacts on which varied type initial severity. Across types, effectiveness declined over time, mean reduction decreasing than twofold occurred greater 10 years after treatment. Our provides up-to-date information extent active reduces facilitates better outcomes during future events.

Language: Английский

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Previous wildfires and management treatments moderate subsequent fire severity

Forest Ecology and Management, Journal Year: 2021, Volume and Issue: 504, P. 119764 - 119764

Published: Nov. 1, 2021

Language: Английский

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Tamm Review: Ecological principles to guide post-fire forest landscape management in the Inland Pacific and Northern Rocky Mountain regions

Forest Ecology and Management, Journal Year: 2021, Volume and Issue: 504, P. 119680 - 119680

Published: Nov. 23, 2021

Language: Английский

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Different approaches make comparing studies of burn severity challenging: a review of methods used to link remotely sensed data with the Composite Burn Index

International Journal of Wildland Fire, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 32(4), P. 449 - 475

Published: Feb. 6, 2023

The Composite Burn Index (CBI) is commonly linked to remotely sensed data understand spatial and temporal patterns of burn severity. However, a comprehensive understanding the tradeoffs between different methods used model CBI with lacking. To help current state science, provide blueprint towards conducting broad-scale meta-analyses, identify key decision points potential rationale, we conducted review studies that continuous estimates severity measured related methods. We roadmap methodologies applied examine rationales justify them. Our findings largely reflect in North America – particularly western USA due high number region. find use across introduces variations make it difficult compare outcomes. Additionally, existing suite comparative focuses on one or few many possible sources uncertainty. Thus, compounding error propagation throughout decisions made during analysis not well understood. Finally, suggest broad set methodological information for decision-making could facilitate future reviews.

Language: Английский

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Evidence for strong bottom-up controls on fire severity during extreme events

Fire Ecology, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 21(1)

Published: May 1, 2025

Language: Английский

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Temporal and Spatial Analyses of Forest Burnt Area in the Middle Volga Region Based on the Satellite Imagery and Climatic Factors

Published: Jan. 18, 2024

Wildfires are important natural drivers of forest stands dynamics, strongly influencing on their regeneration and ecosystem services. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis spatiotemporal burnt area (BA) patterns over the period 2000–2022 in Middle Volga region Russian Federation base remote sensing time series, considering impact cli-matic factors fires. The temporal trends were assessed with Mann-Kendall nonpara-metric statistical test Theil-Sen’s slope estimator using LandTrendr algorithm Google Earth Platform (GEE). accuracy assessment indicated high overall (> 84%) F-score value 82%) for detection as evaluated against 581 sites ref-erence data. results revealed that fire occurrences mainly irregular highest frequency 7.3 22-year period. total BA was about 280 thousand ha, which equals to 1.7% land surface or 4.0% forested under study region. coniferous most fire-prone ecosystems accounting 59.0 % BA; deciduous accounts 25.1%; insignificant registered young forests shrub lands. On seasonal scale, temperature generally has greater than precipitation wind speed.

Language: Английский

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When do contemporary wildfires restore forest structures in the Sierra Nevada?

Fire Ecology, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 20(1)

Published: Sept. 30, 2024

Language: Английский

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Contemporary wildfires further degrade resistance and resilience of fire-excluded forests

Forest Ecology and Management, Journal Year: 2021, Volume and Issue: 506, P. 119975 - 119975

Published: Dec. 30, 2021

Language: Английский

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Assessing the effects of burn severity on post-fire tree structures using the fused drone and mobile laser scanning point clouds

Frontiers in Environmental Science, Journal Year: 2022, Volume and Issue: 10

Published: Aug. 31, 2022

Wildfires burn heterogeneously across the landscape and create complex forest structures. Quantifying structural changes in post-fire forests is critical to evaluating wildfire impacts providing insights into severities. To advance understanding of severities at a fine scale, attributes individual tree level need be examined. The advent drone laser scanning (DLS) mobile (MLS) has enabled acquisition high-density point clouds resolve structures trees. Yet, few studies have used DLS MLS data jointly examine their combined capability describe assess 2017 Elephant Hill British Columbia, Canada, we scanned trees that experienced range 2 years using both MLS. After fusing data, reconstructed quantitative structure models compute 14 biometric, volumetric, crown attributes. At level, our suggest smaller pre-fire tend experience higher levels scorch than larger Among with similar sizes, those within mature stands (age class: > 50 years) had lower young 15—50 years). small- medium-diameter trees, experiencing high crowns unevenly distributed branches compared unburned In contrast, large-diameter were more resistant scorch. plot low-severity fires minor effects, moderate-severity mostly decreased height, high-severity significantly reduced diameter breast biomass. Our exploratory factor analyses further revealed dominated by large sizes relatively wide spacing could less severely characterized regenerating fuel density continuity. Overall, results demonstrate fused DLS-MLS can effective quantifying structures, which facilitates foresters develop site-specific management plans. findings imply abundance configuration vital controlling

Language: Английский

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