10.5061/DRYAD.3B15S
Nelson, Kellen N.
University of Wyoming
Turner, Monica G.
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Romme, William H.
Colorado State University
Tinker, Daniel B.
University of Wyoming
Data from: Landscape variation in tree regeneration and snag fall drive
fuel loads in 25-yr old post-fire lodgepole pine forests
Dryad
dataset
2016
forest fuels
reburn
Pinus contorta var. latifolia
forest stand structure
young forest
Forest ecology
2016-07-28T15:23:34Z
2016-07-28T15:23:34Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.1412
644580 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Escalating wildfire in subalpine forests with stand-replacing fire regimes
is increasing the extent of early-seral forests throughout the western US.
Post-fire succession generates the fuel for future fires, but little is
known about fuel loads and their variability in young post-fire stands. We
sampled fuel profiles in 24-year-old post-fire lodgepole pine (Pinus
contorta var. latifolia) stands (n=82) that regenerated from the 1988
Yellowstone Fires to answer three questions. (1) How do canopy and surface
fuel loads vary within and among young lodgepole pine stands? (2) How do
canopy and surface fuels vary with pre- and post-fire lodgepole pine stand
structure and environmental conditions? (3) How have surface fuels changed
between 8 and 24 years post-fire? Fuel complexes varied tremendously
across the landscape despite having regenerated from the same fires.
Available canopy fuel loads and canopy bulk density averaged 8.5 Mg ha-1
[range 0.0-46.6] and 0.24 kg m3 [range: 0.0-2.3], respectively, meeting or
exceeding levels in mature lodgepole pine forests. Total surface-fuel
loads averaged 123 Mg ha-1 [range: 43 - 207], and 88% was in the 1000-hr
fuel class. Litter, 1-hr, and 10-hr surface fuel loads were lower than
reported for mature lodgepole pine forests, and 1000-hr fuel loads were
similar or greater. Among-plot variation was greater in canopy fuels than
surface fuels, and within-plot variation was greater than among-plot
variation for nearly all fuels. Post-fire lodgepole pine density was the
strongest positive predictor of canopy and fine surface fuel loads.
Pre-fire successional stage was the best predictor of 100-hr and 1000-hr
fuel loads in the post-fire stands and strongly influenced the size and
proportion of sound logs (greater when late successional stands had
burned) and rotten logs (greater when early successional stands had
burned). Our data suggest that 76% of the young post-fire lodgepole pine
forests have 1000-hr fuel loads that exceed levels associated with
high-severity surface fire potential, and 63% exceed levels associated
with active crown fire potential. Fire rotations in Yellowstone National
Park are predicted to shorten to a few decades and this prediction cannot
be ruled out by a lack of fuels to carry repeated fires.
Stand structure and live/dead biomass in 24 year old lodgepole pine
forestsIncludes: stand structure, derived topographic and environmental
variables, live and dead forest fuels, 83 plots collected across the 1988
wildfire footprint within Yellowstone National Park. Full metadata
available in the readme file.FUEL_DATA_NELSONETAL_ECOAPPS_2016.xlsx
Yellowstone National Park
Rocky Mountains