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Information Report Number: GLC-X-6 ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF FOREST FIRES IN THE BOREAL AND GREAT LAKES - ST. LAWRENCE FOREST REGIONS OF ONTARIO: A PARTIALLY ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY T.J. Lynham, M.E. Alexander, D.M. Morris, and J.L. Kantor Information Report Number: GLC-X-6 ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF FOREST FIRES IN THE BOREAL AND GREAT LAKES - ST. LAWRENCE FOREST REGIONS OF ONTARIO: A PARTIALLY ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Timothy J. Lynham Natural Resources Canada Canadian Forest Service Great Lakes Forestry Centre 1219 Queen St. East Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario P6A 2E5 Martin E. Alexander Natural Resources Canada Canadian Forest Service Northern Forestry Centre 5320 - 122 Street Edmonton, Alberta T6H 3S5 David M. Morris and Jamie L. Kantor Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Centre for Northern Forest Ecosystem Research c/o Lakehead University 955 Oliver Road Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 5E1 Published by: Natural Resources Canada Canadian Forest Service Great Lakes Forestry Centre Information Report Number: GLC-X-6 © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2002 Catalogue No. Fo29-51/6-2002E ISBN 0-662-32586-9 ISSN 2562-0738 (online) National Library of Canada cataloguing in publication data Main entry under title : Ecological effects of forest fires in the boreal and Great Lakes – St. Lawrence forest regions of Ontario : a partially annotated bibliography (Information report ; GLC-X-6) Includes preliminary material in French. ISBN 0-662-32586-9 ISSN 2562-0738 (online) Cat. no. Fo29-51/6-2002E 1. Fire ecology – Ontario — Bibliography 2. Forest fires – Environmental aspects – Ontario – Bibliogaphy. 3. Forest fires – Environmental aspects – Great Lakes Region – Bibliography. 4. Forest fires – Environmental aspects – Saint-Lawrence River Region —Bibliography. 5. Forest fires – Environmental aspects – Bibliography. 6. Fire ecology – Bibliography. I. Lynham, T.J. II. Great Lakes Forestry Centre. III. Series: Information report (Great Lakes Forestry Centre) ; GLC-X-6. Z5322.F57E25 2002 016.6349’618 C2002-980292-X Copies of this publication may be obtained free of charge from: T.J. Lynham David M. Morris Natural Resources Canada Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Canadian Forest Service Centre for Northern Forest Ecosystem Research 1219 Queen Street East c/o Lakehead University Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario P6A 2E5 955 Oliver Road Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 5E1 Telephone: (705) 541-5537 Fax: (705) 541-5701 Telephone: (807) 343-4020 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Printed on recyled paper Cover design by Mark J. Primavera TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................ 1 2.0 FIRE AND THE BOREAL FOREST REGION ................................... 13 2.1 Influence of fire on soil: physical and chemical properties ..................... 13 2.2 Influence of fire on vegetation ............................................ 25 2.2.1 Influence of fire on vegetation: crop tree regeneration and growth ....... 25 2.2.2 Influence of fire on vegetation: community structure and biodiversity .... 42 2.3 Influence of fire on fauna: populations, habitat .............................. 67 2.4 Role of fire in forest management ......................................... 85 3.0 FIRE AND THE GREAT LAKES - ST. LAWRENCE FOREST REGION ........... 101 3.1 Influence of fire on soil: physical and chemical properties .................... 101 3.2 Influence of fire on vegetation ........................................... 105 3.2.1 Influence of fire on vegetation: crop tree regeneration and growth ...... 105 3.2.2 Influence of fire on vegetation: community structure and biodiversity ... 112 3.3 Influence of fire on fauna: populations, habitat ............................. 124 3.4 Role of fire in forest management ........................................ 129 APPENDIX A Theses (B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D.) related to fire ecology ............................... 141 APPENDIX B Books and conference proceedings associated with understanding the ecological role of fire .............................................................................. 157 APPENDIX C List of abbreviated forms and complete titles of journals used in abstracts .............. 159 APPENDIX D Author Index ................................................................. 162 i ii 1.0 INTRODUCTION This report is an annotated bibliography on the ecological effects of fire on fauna, flora, soil, water, and microclimate in the Boreal and Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Forest Regions of Ontario and adjacent areas (i.e., eastern Manitoba, northern Minnesota, Isle Royale in Michigan, and western Quebec). It includes published literature as well as important unpublished reports. In some cases, author’s abstracts, summaries, conclusions, or selected passages were excerpted. Many reports, especially reports before 1980, were annotated to be included in the bibliography. The focus of this bibliography is on fire effects in natural forest stands. Fire impact in cut-over stands (McRae et al. 2001) is not covered, nor are the biological and silvicultural effects of broadcast slash burning (e.g., McRae 1979). The report is patterned after Schrige and Penderis (1978) in which a specific geographical area is covered. It is intended to be a handy reference for Ontario land managers, researchers, educators, and university students. It includes several references on fire effects that came from Drysdale et al. (1974). His report originated from a joint Canada-Ontario research committee and was the first recorded attempt to pull together references on fire effects in Ontario. Historical Fire Incidence The annotated portion of this bibliography does not include references related to the historical incidence of fire in Ontario. A comprehensive review on this subject was conducted by Alexander (1980). An atlas of fires greater than 200 ha, that date back to 1926, was produced by Donnelly and Harrington (1978). Several reports have examined historical fires in conjunction with specific parts of the boreal forest in Ontario. Johnston and Sharpe (1923) produced a forest survey report that included fires in northeastern Ontario. Forest age distributions and rates of disturbance in northwestern Ontario were examined by Suffling et al. (1982). Simkin (1965) reported on specific fires related to woodland caribou in the Hudson Bay Limits. In the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Forest Region, Brunskill and Schindler (1971) studied fire history in western Ontario and Battson (1983) examined it in northeastern Ontario. Other papers (Table 1) examined average fire rotation periods in various forest zones. Table 1. Fire rotation periods in Ontario and adjacent areas. Fire Rotation (yr) Forest Region Location Reference 8-45 GLSL Itasca State Park, MN Clark (1990) 22 GLSL Itasca State Park, MN Frissell (1973) 20-30 Boreal Sachigo Hills, ON Lynham and Stocks (1991) 60-70 GLSL Boundary Waters, MN Swain (1973) 70-80 GLSL Barron Township, ON Cwynar (1977, 1978) 78 GLSL Quetico Provincial Park, ON Woods and Day (1977) 60-100 Boreal Northwest Lake, ON Pilmanis (1994) 100 GLSL Boundary Waters, MN Heinselman (1973) 1 The Ecological Role of Fire The subject of fire ecology and effects across the boreal forest has been covered in several review papers (e.g., Lutz 1960; Kayll 1968; Scotter 1972; Rowe and Scotter 1973; Heinselman 1981a, b), symposium proceedings (e.g., Slaughter et al. 1971; Anon. 1979; Hoefs and Russell 1980; Wein and MacLean 1983) and monographs (e.g., Lutz 1956; Scotter 1964; Kelsall et al. 1977; Viereck and Schandelmeier 1980). Reviews on fire ecology in the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Forest Region include Heinselman (1981a, b) and Wright and Bailey (1982). The ecological significance of fire was summarized in an unpublished paper by Van Wagner (1981). He pointed out that fire is one of the three primary physical factors, along with climate and soil, that have shaped the Canadian forest. In its natural state, most of the forest is dependent on periodic fire for its long-term stability. In this role, fire acts as a recycling agent. He suggested that fire is neither “good” nor “bad”. The real degradation of forest or site by fire is usually associated with repeated fires at abnormally short intervals or fires resulting from human activities such as logging. On the average, in otherwise undisturbed forests, the post-fire stands are similar and equal in quality to the pre-fire stands (Van Wagner 1981). Wright and Heinselman (1973) briefly summarized the effects of fire as an ecosystem process with several summary points. They stated that fire influences the physical-chemical environment, regulates dry matter accumulation, controls plant species and communities, determines wildlife habitat patterns and populations, controls forest insects, parasites and fungi, and controls major ecosystem processes and characteristics. Alexander and Euler (1981) reviewed the ecological role of fire in the uncut boreal mixedwood forests of Ontario by drawing upon literature from across North America. The authors used the summary points from Wright and Heinselman (1973) to organize their review paper. They completed their review by adding sections on management implications and needs and opportunities for future research. Additional selected examples of the ecological role of fire in the boreal and Great Lakes - St. Lawrence forest regions include: Ellis (1911), Candy (1939), Hustich (1957), Horton and Brown (1960), deVos (1962), Cumming (1972), Heinselman (1975), Foster and Morrison (1976), Day (1982), Klein (1982), and Cayford and McRae
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