Patterns of Post-Fire Aspen Seedling Establishment, Growth, and Mortality in the Western United States
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Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 5-2021 Patterns of Post-Fire Aspen Seedling Establishment, Growth, and Mortality in the Western United States Mark Regier Kreider Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Recommended Citation Kreider, Mark Regier, "Patterns of Post-Fire Aspen Seedling Establishment, Growth, and Mortality in the Western United States" (2021). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 8026. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/8026 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PATTERNS OF POST-FIRE ASPEN SEEDLING ESTABLISHMENT, GROWTH, AND MORTALITY IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES by Mark Regier Kreider A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE in Ecology Approved: _______________________ _______________________ Larissa L. Yocom, Ph.D. Karen E. Mock, Ph.D. Major Professor Committee Member _______________________ _______________________ R. Justin DeRose, Ph.D. D. Richard Cutler, Ph.D. Committee Member Interim Vice Provost of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2021 ii Copyright Mark Regier Kreider 2021 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Patterns of Aspen Seedling Establishment, Growth, and Mortality in the Western United States by Mark Regier Kreider, Master of Science Utah State University, 2021 Major Professor: Dr. Larissa L. Yocom Department: Wildland Resources Sexual seedling establishment in aspen is increasingly recognized as an important natural regeneration pathway for the species in the western U.S. However, information on seedling abundance as well as factors influencing aspen sexual regeneration is limited and frequently anecdotal, due to historical assumptions of seedling rarity as well as difficulty identifying sexual seedlings from asexual aspen sucker regeneration. This thesis contributes to the field of aspen seedling ecology in three major ways. Chapter 1 utilizes historical aspen seedling occurrences in the western U.S. and a systematic field survey of 2018 fire footprints to explore patterns and test assumptions of aspen seedling establishment across multiple geographic scales. Chapter 2 focuses on one widespread post-fire aspen seedling establishment event in southern Utah, tracking seedlings through time to identify factors that influence survival and growth across a range of environmental conditions. Finally, Chapter 3 is reproduced from a first-authored article published in the Journal of Forestry and presents a framework for non-destructively iv distinguishing aspen seedlings from suckers, removing a barrier that has hampered aspen seedling research in the past. Together, these chapters expand our understanding of aspen seedling establishment in the western U.S., and highlight the important role sexual aspen establishment may play in the dispersal and recruitment of the species, both historically and in changing future conditions. (124 pages) v PUBLIC ABSTRACT Patterns of Aspen Seedling Establishment, Growth, and Mortality in the Western United States Mark Regier Kreider Sexual seedling establishment in aspen is increasingly recognized as an important natural regeneration pathway for the species in the western U.S. However, information on seedling abundance as well as factors influencing aspen sexual regeneration is limited and frequently anecdotal, due to historical assumptions of seedling rarity as well as difficulty identifying sexual seedlings from asexual aspen sucker regeneration. This thesis contributes to the field of aspen seedling ecology in three major ways. Chapter 1 utilizes historical aspen seedling occurrences in the western U.S. and a systematic field survey of 2018 fire footprints to explore patterns and test assumptions of aspen seedling establishment across multiple geographic scales. Chapter 2 focuses on one widespread post-fire aspen seedling establishment event in southern Utah, tracking seedlings through time to identify factors that influence survival and growth across a range of environmental conditions. Finally, Chapter 3 is reproduced from a first-authored article published in the Journal of Forestry and presents a framework for non-destructively distinguishing aspen seedlings from suckers, removing a barrier that has hampered aspen seedling research in the past. Together, these chapters expand our understanding of aspen seedling establishment in the western U.S., and highlight the important role sexual aspen establishment may play in the dispersal and recruitment of the species, both historically and in changing future conditions. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Throughout my masters, I have received a tremendous amount of support from many individuals and organizations. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1745048. Additional funding came from the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies Utah State as well as the Utah State University Ecology Center, Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, and Office of Research. I am very grateful to Dr. Larissa Yocom for her constant support, guidance, and advice at all points along the journey. I wish to thank my other committee members, Dr. Karen Mock and Dr. Justin DeRose, for their knowledgeable counsel and assistance. I would also like to extend my deepest gratitude to Dr. Ryan Sensenig for first kindling my interest in ecology as an academic pursuit, and for modeling to me (and many others) how to be a curious, caring, and passionate ecologist and human. For Chapter 2, I would like to thank Bailey Nordin and Shawnee Tebbs for help collecting field data, and to individuals who shared information on additional aspen seedling events, including MaryLou Fairweather, James Jacobs, Kevin Krasnow, Ellis Margolis, Katie Nigro, Paul Rogers, Monica Turner, Nicholas Wilhelmi, and Bryan Williams. For Chapter 3, I thank Brian Van Winkle and Eric Eastep for their help with research permits and fieldwork logistics, as well as research technicians who helped collect data: Grace Chovil, Etta Crowley, Taylor Hague, Allysia Hammond, Trevette Kuester, Liam McAvoy, Bailey Nordin, Cashe Rasmussen, Shawnee Tebbs, and Savannah Tollefson. For Chapter 4, I thank Taylor Hague, Allysia Hammond, Trevette Kuester, Cache vii Rasmussen, and Savannah Tollefson for their help in systematic seedling excavation. Thank you to my fellow lab members, who have made these last two and a half years even more enjoyable with their camaraderie, helpful problem-solving and insightful comments on numerous manuscripts and presentations. Finally, I would like thank my parents and brother for instilling in me a love and curiosity for natural processes such as those I now study, and for the tremendous love and support they have shown throughout my life. Mark Regier Kreider viii CONTENTS Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Public Abstract .....................................................................................................................v Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. vi List of Tables .......................................................................................................................x List of Figures .................................................................................................................... xi Preface............................................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................1 Literature Cited ........................................................................................................3 Chapter 2: Patterns Of Aspen Seedling Establishment In Historical And Systematically Surveyed Sites In The Western U.S. ....................................................................................6 Abstract ....................................................................................................................6 Introduction ..............................................................................................................7 Methods..................................................................................................................11 Results ....................................................................................................................27 Discussion ..............................................................................................................36 Literature Cited ......................................................................................................42 Chapter 3: Aspen Seedling Establishment, Survival, And Growth Following The Brian Head Fire ..................................................................................................................54 Abstract ..................................................................................................................54 Introduction ............................................................................................................54