Dennis C. Odion

Learning to coexist with wildfire

The impacts of escalating wildfire in many regions — the lives and homes lost, the expense of suppression and the damage to ecosystem services — necessitate a more sustainable coexistence with wildfire. Climate change and continued development on fire-prone landscapes will only compound current problems. Emerging strategies for managing ecosystems and mitigating risks to human communities provide some hope, although greater recognition of their inherent variation and links is crucial. Without a more integrated framework, fire will never operate as a natural ecosystem process, and the impact on society will continue to grow. A more coordinated approach to risk management and land-use planning in these coupled systems is needed.

FIRE, SOIL HEATING, AND THE FORMATION OF VEGETATION PATTERNS IN CHAPARRAL

We documented patterns of surface heating associated with chaparral fire to characterize funda- mental scale variation in the intensity of this stand-replacing disturbance. To test how this variation may influence community structure, we studied its effect on the soil seed bank and the distribution of seedlings and resprouts that emerged after fire. To evaluate the long-term significance of initial patterns, we monitored vegetation development for 4-5 yr, thereby encompassing the dynamic portion of the chaparral fire cycle. We studied two stands on level uniform terrain before, during, and after fall fires. Stands were dominated by chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum), a postfire seeder/sprouter. Nonsprouting Arctostaphylos and Ceanothus spp. were also present. Preburn vegetation, seed populations, soil heating, and postburn plant growth were analyzed along transects of contiguous 1-m 2 plots, so that we could block them together incrementally to identify scale dependence of patterns. In addition, we directly compared heating effects under the fuel array with those just outside by establishing plots in canopy gaps, under the adjacent canopy, and in gaps created and eliminated by reciprocally translocating fuel. Pre- and postburn seed populations were estimated in soil samples collected from all plots. The proportion of seed that survived above and below 2.5 cm in the soil was determined in a subset of plots. The amount and distribution of canopy fuel that collapsed during fire and smoldered on the ground caused pronounced spatial variation in total surface heating. The strength of relationships among patterns of soil heating, preburn canopy, surviving seeds, and seedlings and herbaceous resprouts was consistently most pronounced in blocks 3-5 m long. At this scale, postburn patterns were strongly negatively associated with the amount of preburn canopy and the pattern of soil heating this fuel created. Seedlings or herbaceous resprouts of numerous species were abundant where soil heating was relatively low, most notably in natural and created canopy gaps. Conversely, areas where dense canopy occurred before fire, especially gaps displaced by fuel addition, were barren except for occasional Arctostaphylos and Ceanothus seedlings. These obligate postfire seeders, along with the subshrub Helianthemum scoparium , had more deeply buried seeds, and some of them were able to survive where soil heating was prolonged. However, Helianthemum did not emerge from depth. Seedlings of Arctostaphylos and Ceanothus nearest Adenostoma burls survived significantly better when Adenostoma failed to resprout. This was common in one burn where heating was relatively high and burl size was small. Seed mortality prevented Adenostoma seedling emergence from occurring where its seeds were most abundant prior to fire, which was in proximity to its burls. Adenostoma seedlings did emerge in areas of lower soil heating, but their survival was inversely related to the density of Helianthemum seedlings. No shrub seedlings emerged after the first year following fire because their seed banks were exhausted by fire-induced mortality and/or germination. After 4-5 yr, few young Adenostoma remained. The combination of seedling and resprout regen- eration allowed this shrub to maintain dominance, but to a lesser extent in the older stand. Our results support a vegetation pattern-process model in which local species distributions after fire in Adenostoma chaparral are antecedently linked to the physical and chemical properties of the canopy. These control the nature of combustion, the soil heating that results, and the distribution of seeds and resprout tissues that survive. The vegetation develops entirely from these sources, so fire-induced patterns are manifest in the long-term structure of this vegetation.

Examining historical and current mixed-severity fire regimes in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests of Western North America

There is widespread concern that fire exclusion has led to an unprecedented threat of uncharacteristically severe fires in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex. Laws) and mixed-conifer forests of western North America. These extensive montane forests are considered to be adapted to a low/moderate-severity fire regime that maintained stands of relatively old trees. However, there is increasing recognition from landscape-scale assessments that, prior to any significant effects of fire exclusion, fires and forest structure were more variable in these forests. Biota in these forests are also dependent on the resources made available by higher-severity fire. A better understanding of historical fire regimes in the ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests of western North America is therefore needed to define reference conditions and help maintain characteristic ecological diversity of these systems. We compiled landscape-scale evidence of historical fire severity patterns in the ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests from published literature sources and stand ages available from the Forest Inventory and Analysis program in the USA. The consensus from this evidence is that the traditional reference conditions of low-severity fire regimes are inaccurate for most forests of western North America. Instead, most forests appear to have been characterized by mixed-severity fire that included ecologically significant amounts of weather-driven, high-severity fire. Diverse forests in different stages of succession, with a high proportion in relatively young stages, occurred prior to fire exclusion. Over the past century, successional diversity created by fire decreased. Our findings suggest that ecological management goals that incorporate successional diversity created by fire may support characteristic biodiversity, whereas current attempts to “restore” forests to open, low-severity fire conditions may not align with historical reference conditions in most ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests of western North America.

Establishment of microscale vegetation pattern in maritime chaparral after fire

We quantified microscale pattern in vegetation and seed assemblages along a 24 m transect before and for two years following a controlled burn in chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum) chaparral in central coastal California. Our objective was to document scale-dependent correlation between pre-burn seed assemblages, pre-burn canopy cover, microtopography, soil temperatures during burning, post-burn seed assemblages and post-burn vegetation. Scale-dependent correlations among pre- and post-burn seed densities, maximum soil temperatures during burning, microtopography and post-burn vegetation were measured based on two-term local covariance analysis. Seed distribution varied among species prior to fire, with seeds of some annual species concentrated in gap areas. Maximum soil temperatures during burning ranged from less than 50 °C to 225 °C, and were generally lowest in gaps in the pre-burn canopy. These gaps were associated with local topographic depressions. After burning, readily germinable seeds were concentrated in or near gaps in the pre-burn canopy. Germination of different species was variously enhanced, diminished or unchanged by the passage of fire. Post-burn vegetation was very patchy, with some areas nearly devoid of seedlings and other areas, especially pre-burn canopy gaps, supporting numerous seedlings. Seedling recruitment patterns in the second year were generally highly correlated with patterns in pre-burn seed banks and first year vegetation. Although many species exhibited similar recruitment patterns, several different mechanisms may have been responsible for the origin of those patterns.

Fire Severity in Conifer Forests of the Sierra Nevada, California

Natural disturbances are an important source of environmental heterogeneity that have been linked to species diversity in ecosystems. However, spatial and temporal patterns of disturbances are often evaluated separately. Consequently, rates and scales of existing disturbance processes and their effects on biodiversity are often uncertain. We have studied both spatial and temporal patterns of contemporary fires in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, USA. Patterns of fire severity were analyzed for conifer forests in the three largest fires since 1999. These fires account for most cumulative area that has burned in recent years. They burned relatively remote areas where there was little timber management. To better characterize high-severity fire, we analyzed its effect on the survival of pines. We evaluated temporal patterns of fire since 1950 in the larger landscapes in which the three fires occurred. Finally, we evaluated the utility of a metric for the effects of fire suppression. Known as Condition Class it is now being used throughout the United States to predict where fire will be uncharacteristically severe. Contrary to the assumptions of fire management, we found that high-severity fire was uncommon. Moreover, pines were remarkably tolerant of it. The wildfires helped to restore landscape structure and heterogeneity, as well as producing fire effects associated with natural diversity. However, even with large recent fires, rates of burning are relatively low due to modern fire management. Condition Class was not able to predict patterns of high-severity fire. Our findings underscore the need to conduct more comprehensive assessments of existing disturbance regimes and to determine whether natural disturbances are occurring at rates and scales compatible with the maintenance of biodiversity.

Overestimation of Fire Risk in the Northern Spotted Owl Recovery Plan

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services 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 owls 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.

Invasion of maritime chaparral by the introduced succulentCarpobrotus edulis

Invasion by the alien succulent,Carpobrotus edulis, has become a common occurrence after fire in maritime chaparral in coastal California, USA. We studied post-burnCarpobrotus establishment in chaparral that lackedCarpobrotus plants before the fire and compared seedbank and field populations in adjacent burned and unburned stands.Carpobrotus seeds were abundant in deer scat and in the soil before burning. Burning did not enhance germination: many seeds were apparently killed by fire and seed bank cores taken after fire revealed no germinable seeds. Laboratory tests showed that temperatures over 105°C for five minutes killedCarpobrotus seeds. In a field experiment involving use of herbivore exclosures, we found that herbivory was an important source of mortality for seedlings in both burned and unburned chaparral. All seedlings, however, died outside of the burn regardless of the presence of cages. Establishment there is apparently limited by factors affecting plant physiology. In the burned area, seedlings that escaped herbivory grew very rapidly. Overall, it appears that herbivory limited seedling establishment in both burned and unburned sites but that the post-burn soil environment supportedCarpobrotus growth in excess of herbivore use, thus promoting establishment.

Complex Early Seral Forests of the Sierra Nevada: What are They and How Can They Be Managed for Ecological Integrity?

ABSTRACT: Complex early seral forests (CESFs) occupy potentially forested sites after a stand-replacement disturbance and before re-establishment of a closed-forest canopy. Such young forests contain numbers and kinds of biological legacies missing from those produced by commercial forestry operations. In the Sierra Nevada of California, CESFs are most often produced by mixed-severity fires, which include landscape patches burned at high severity. These forests support diverse plant and wildlife communities rarely found elsewhere in the Sierra Nevada. Severe fires are, therefore, essential to the regions ecological integrity. Ecologically detrimental management of CESFs, or unburned forests that may become CESFs following fire, is degrading the regions globally outstanding qualities. Unlike old-growth forests. CESFs have received little attention in conservation and reserve management. Thus, we describe important ecological attributes of CESFs and distinguish them from early serai conditions created by logging. We recommend eight best management practices in CESFs for achieving ecological integrity on federal lands in the mixed-conifer region of the Sierra Nevada.

Is fire severity increasing in the Sierra Nevada, California, USA?

Research in the Sierra Nevada range of California, USA, has provided conflicting results about current trends of high-severity fire. Previous studies have used only a portion of available fire severity data, or considered only a portion of the Sierra Nevada. Our goal was to investigate whether a trend in fire severity is occurring in Sierra Nevada conifer forests currently, using satellite imagery. We analysed all available fire severity data, 1984-2010, over the whole ecoregion and found no trend in proportion, area or patch size of high-severity fire. The rate of high-severity fire has been lower since 1984 than the estimated historical rate. Responses of fire behaviour to climate change and fire suppression may be more complex than assumed. A better understanding of spatiotemporal patterns in fire regimes is needed to predict future fire regimes and their biological effects. Mechanisms underlying the lack of an expected climate- and time since fire-related trend in high-severity fire need to be identified to help calibrate projections of future fire. The effects of climate change on high-severity fire extent may remain small compared with fire suppression. Management could shift from a focus on reducing extent or severity of fire in wildlands to protecting human communities from fire.

Are Long Fire-free Periods Needed to Maintain the Endangered, Fire-recruiting Shrub Arctostaphylos morroensis(Ericaceae)?

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 decline, which may result if there is an inadequate amount of time between fires for replenishment of sufficient seed populations. Using a prescribed burn, we tested whether the size of the seed bank that had accumulated in a 40-yr-old stand would prove adequate for maintaining A. morroensis population sizes through fire. Prior to the burn, we found ~11,000 seeds/m 2 in the soil, mostly in the top 5 cm. However, the number of viable seeds was substantially lower (334 seeds/m 2 ), and less than one-third of these survived the experimental fire (99 seeds/m 2 ). Germination occurred only in the first two wet seasons after the fire, and may have been adequate to replace the number of A. morroensis present before the burn. However, most seedlings did not survive their initial summer drought. After three years, the new population of A. morroensis was less than half the size of the parent population. Further mortality is expected because the remaining seedlings are highly clumped. We conclude that A. morroensis may require considerably longer than 40 years to establish an adequate seed bank to compensate for mortality and prevent population decrease or local extinction. This prolonged risk is perhaps explained by specialization of this species to a historic regime of relatively infrequent fire. There are many obligate-seeding species in fire-prone shrublands that may not be resilient to a regime of fire more frequent than that with which they evolved.