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Effects of Creating Two Forest Structures and Using Prescribed Fire on Coarse Woody Debris in Northeastern California, Usa

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Effects of Creating Two Forest Structures and Using Prescribed Fire on Coarse Woody Debris in Northeastern California, Usa Fire Ecology Vol. 5, No. 2, 2009 Uzoh and Skinner: Stand Structure, Prescribed Fire, and Coarse Woody Debris doi: 10.4996/fireecology.0502001 Page RESEARCH ARTICLE EFFECTS OF CREATING TWO FOREST STRUCTURES AND USING PRESCRIBED FIRE ON COARSE WOODY DEBRIS IN NORTHEASTERN CALIFORNIA, USA Fabian C.C. Uzoh and Carl N. Skinner* Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, 3644 Avtech Parkway, Redding, California 96002, USA *Corresponding author: Tel.: 001-530-226-2554; e-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT Little is known about the dynamics of coarse woody debris (CWD) in forests that were originally characterized by frequent, low-moderate intensity fires. We investigated effects of prescribed burning at the Blacks Mountain Experimental Forest in northeastern Califor- nia following creation of two stand structure conditions: 1) high structural diversity (HiD) that included retaining large, old-growth trees while thinning smaller trees in the understo- ry through whole-tree harvesting, and 2) low structural diversity (LoD) simulating a more traditional approach that removed overstory trees by individual tree selection while thin- ning the vigorous younger trees and removing the suppressed understory by whole-tree harvesting. Each of the two structures was replicated six times in a randomized block de- sign for a total of 12 approximately 100 ha factorial plots. Each factorial plot was split and prescribed fire applied to one half of each plot. We classified CWD as either: sound or de- cayed. Coarse woody debris was abundant on all plots regardless of stand structure. Sta- tistically significant differences (α = 0.05) were found in the mass of the CWD between the burned and unburned splits across all experimental units combined for both sound and decayed material. However, when analyzed separately, the difference in the burned and unburned splits was statistically significant for LoD condition but not for HiD condition, likely due to greater heterogeneity of burn in the HiD condition. Coarse woody debris mass declined even in unburned units following treatments (p ≤ 0.1). Keywords: Cascade Range, coarse woody debris, dead wood, down wood, fire effects, interior ponderosa pine forest, Pinus ponderosa, prescribed fire, stand structure Citation: Uzoh, F.C.C., and C.N. Skinner. 2009. Effects of creating two forest structures and using prescribed fire on coarse woody debris in northeastern California, USA. Fire Ecology 5(2): 1-13. doi: 10.4996/fireecology.0502001 INTRODUCTION to wildlife biologists, ecologists, mycologists, foresters, fire managers, soil scientists, and The management of coarse woody debris land managers because CWD management can (CWD) is an issue of importance and interest have important ecological consequences (Fell- Fire Ecology Vol. 5, No. 2, 2009 Uzoh and Skinner: Stand Structure, Prescribed Fire, and Coarse Woody Debris doi: 10.4996/fireecology.0502001 Page 2 er 2003). Coarse woody debris provides im- century (Skinner 2002). Little information is portant habitat elements for many wildlife spe- available from forests with a functioning fre- cies, influences soil processes, provides fuel quent, low to moderate intensity fire regime for for fires, and serves other ecological functions the type of forests found in the southern Cas- (Maser and Trappe 1984, Harmon et al. 1986). cade Range of northern California, USA (Skin- Although past management practices removed ner and Taylor 2006). In mixed conifer forests CWD, today these practices often include pro- of northwestern Mexico that have only recently tecting or enhancing (adding to) CWD (Thom- been impacted by fire-suppression activities, as 2002). However, what constitutes too much Stephens et al. (2007) found that CWD accu- or too little CWD is largely unknown in forests mulations averaged <20 Mg ha-1. This is con- with annual warm season droughts that origi- siderably less than the CWD found in mixed nally had fire regimes characterized by fre- conifer forests of the western Sierra Nevada to- quent, low to moderate intensity fires, such as day. For example, Knapp et al. (2005) found those in northeastern California. Yet, stan- 66.2 Mg ha-1 to 95.8 Mg ha-1 of CWD in Se- dards are often proposed in terms of what may quoia and Kings Canyon national parks, Innes be good or optimum for particular wildlife spe- et al. (2006) measured 63.5 Mg ha-1 at Teaket- cies or suites of species or for soil processes tle Experimental Forest, and Stephens et al. without accommodation for an ecological measured 97.5 Mg ha-1 at Blodgett Forest. baseline that would likely be sustainable under Though no data exist describing the original the local climate and fire regime (Harmon character of CWD in these forests, it is likely 2002, Marcot 2002). that frequent fires originally limited the accu- Coarse woody debris is typically defined mulations of CWD (Skinner 2002, Stephens as dead sound and decaying logs, stumps, and 2004). coarse roots that are generally greater than 7.5 Woody material in these summer dry cli- cm in diameter (Stevens 1997). However, the mates decomposes slowly (Busse 1994, Mc- minimum size for CWD is not standardized Coll and Powers 2003) relative to the frequen- and has varied depending on study objectives cy of fire that existed under pre-fire-exclusion (Stevens 1997). Managers are often faced with fire regimes (Taylor 2000, Norman and Taylor the competing goals of minimizing the poten- 2003). Generally, median fire return intervals tial for large, high-intensity wildfires, while in forests of northeastern California varied providing for necessary ecological elements from 5 yr to 12 yr at the stand scale before sys- (such as CWD) for maintenance of wildlife tematic fire suppression was imposed early in habitat and sustaining soil processes. For man- the twentieth century (Taylor 2000, Norman agers, this is problematic because providing and Taylor 2003). Thus, fires would likely for too little CWD may lead to loss of critical have occurred at least several times over the habitat elements, while maintaining too much period it would have taken for woody material may lead to unusually severe fires resulting in to decompose (e.g., Busse 1994). Even the loss of critical habitat (Thomas 2002). relatively rapidly decomposing CWD in Se- Most information describing quantities and quoia National Park (Harmon et al. 1987) function of coarse woody debris in the western would likely have experienced several fires United States is from ecosystems that have ex- during its period of decay before disruption of perienced relatively long periods without fires the fire regime (Swetnam and Baisan 2003). (Morgan et al. 2002) because of a fire regime Fire exclusion has likely led to increased accu- of mostly infrequent fires (e.g., Wright et al. mulation (Parsons and DeBenedetti 1979, van 2002) or because of fire exclusion over the last Wagtendonk 1985), greater spatial continuity Fire Ecology Vol. 5, No. 2, 2009 Uzoh and Skinner: Stand Structure, Prescribed Fire, and Coarse Woody Debris doi: 10.4996/fireecology.0502001 Page (Miller and Urban 2000), and a greater abun- there would be little difference in CWD be- dance of CWD in advanced stages of decay tween structural and grazing treatments be- (Skinner 2002, Knapp et al. 2005). All of cause initial stand conditions were similar be- these factors potentially contribute to greater fore treatments and harvests targeted live trees fire intensity and more severe fire effects than of varying sizes. The team expected initial if the historical fire regimes were still operat- CWD effects to be related to whether or not ing (van Wagtendonk 1985, Skinner and Chang treatment plots were burned. Additionally, the 1996, Stephens 1998). combinations of treatments would set the Moore et al. (1999) have suggested that stands on very different successional trajecto- restoration of pre-fire suppression stand condi- ries and CWD differences should become tions may be an appropriate goal to reduce the more pronounced over time (Oliver 2000). potential for unusually large, intense fires while sustaining necessary ecosystem elements METHODS and function. With the exception of the Ste- phens et al. (2007) study in northwestern Mex- Study Area ico, we are not aware of any existing data or estimates of pre-fire suppression CWD The study is located within the Blacks amounts that would help to provide restoration Mountain Experimental Forest (BMEF) in goals. However, it is likely that accumulations northeastern California, USA, about 64 km were less than that found in these forests today northwest of Susanville, Lassen County, at lat- (Skinner 2002). Brown et al. (2003) devel- itude 40.73º and longitude -121.15º. Blacks oped one estimate of such a range of recom- Mountain Experimental Forest occupies 3715 mended CWD quantities for dry ponderosa ha and is the site of the large interdisciplinary, pine (Pinus ponderosa) and Douglas-fir (Pseu- long-term ecological research project (BMI- dotsuga menziesii) forests of western Montana ERP) initiated in 1991 (Oliver 2000). The (nomenclature follows Hickman 1993). Their BMEF is in the eastern Cascade Range and has recommendations are based on average CWD a montane Mediterranean climate character- quantities inventoried in stands thought to be ized by warm, dry summers and cold, wet win- representative of stand conditions existing be- ters. Annual precipitation, which falls mostly fore the onset of fire suppression. For those as snow between October and April, averages forests, they recommend 11 Mg ha-1 to 22 Mg about 460 mm and mean air temperatures usu- ha-1, which turns out to be similar to the ally range from -9 ºC in January to 29 ºC in amounts found by Stephens et al. (2007) in July (Zhang and Ritchie 2008). The bedrock northwestern Mexico. is mostly basalt. Soils are generally between 1 The objective of our study was to quantify m and 2 m deep with mesic soil temperature the early responses of CWD to the creation of regimes at lower elevations, and Andic Argiz- different stand structural conditions in the erolls with frigid soil temperature regimes at Blacks Mountain Interdisciplinary Ecological higher elevations.
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