Fire Ecology of the Forest Habitat Types of Northern Idaho
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United States Department of Agriculture Fire Ecology of the Forest Service Intermountain Forest Habitat Types Research Station General Technical Report INT-GTR-363 of Northern Idaho September 1997 Jane Kapler Smith William C. Fischer The Authors research forester specializing in applied research and technology transfer in fire management. At the time of his Jane Kapler Smith is a Forest Ecologist in the Fire Effects retirement in 1993, Bill was the fire effects team leader in Work Unit at the Rocky Mountain Research Station the Fire Effects and Use Research Work Unit at the (formerly Intermountain Research Station), Intermoun- Intermountain Fire Sciences Laboratory. tain Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT. Her in- volvement with this report began while she was em- ployed as a forest ecologist by Systems for Environmental Research Summary Management, a nonprofit research foundation in Missoula, MT. Jane earned a B.A. degree from Alverno College, This report summarizes available information on fire as Milwaukee, WI (1971), and an M.S. degree in forest an ecological factor for forest habitat and community ecology from Colorado State University (1983). She has types in northern Idaho. Habitat and community types are worked as a forestry technician, an ecological consult- assigned to fire groups based on fire regimes and poten- ant, and an instructor of biology and technical writing. tial forest stand development after fire. An introductory section discusses relationships of ma- William C. Fischer is a Forestry Graduate of Paul jor species (tree, shrub, herb, and animals) to fire, gen- Smith’s College (A.A.S. 1954) and The University of eral considerations for fire management, and the ecol- Michigan (B.S. 1956). He was employed as a forester in ogy of persistent seral communities in northern Idaho. resource management and fire control positions on the For each fire group, the authors discuss (1) vegetation, Boise National Forest, ID, from 1956 through 1965. In (2) forest fuels, (3) the natural role of fire, (4) potential 1966 he joined the staff of the Intermountain Fire Sci- patterns of forest stand development after fire, and ences Laboratory, Missoula, MT, where he served as a (5) fire management considerations. You may order additional copies of this publication by sending your mailing information in label form through one of the following media. Please specify the publication title and General Technical Report number. Telephone (801) 625-5437 DG message Pubs:S22A FAX (801) 625-5129, Attn: Publications E-mail /s=pubs/[email protected] Mailing Address Publications Distribution Rocky Mountain Research Station 324 25th Street Ogden, UT 84401 Rocky Mountain Research Station (formerly Intermountain Research Station) 324 25th Street Ogden, UT 84401 Contents Fuels ...................................................................48 Role of Fire .........................................................50 Page Forest Succession ..............................................51 Fire Management Considerations ......................52 Introduction ................................................................. 1 Fire Group Two: Warm, Dry to Moderate Format ....................................................................... 3 Douglas-fir, Grand Fir, and Ponderosa Pine Nomenclature and Terminology ..................................5 Habitat Types .........................................................53 Forestry and Silvicultural Terms ........................... 5 Vegetation ..........................................................54 Fire Return Intervals ............................................. 5 Fuels ...................................................................55 Fire Severity ......................................................... 6 Role of Fire .........................................................56 Relationships of Major Tree Species to Fire .............10 Forest Succession ..............................................58 Alpine Larch (Larix lyallii) ....................................10 Fire Management Considerations ......................60 Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) ..................10 Fire Group Three: Habitat and Community Types Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii) ............12 Dominated by Persistent Lodgepole Pine .............. 63 Grand Fir (Abies grandis) ...................................12 Vegetation ..........................................................63 Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) ........................13 Fuels ...................................................................63 Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) ............14 Role of Fire .........................................................64 Pacific Yew (Taxus brevifolia) ............................14 Forest Succession ..............................................64 Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) ....................14 Fire Management Considerations ......................65 Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa) .........................15 Fire Group Four: Dry, Lower Subalpine Habitat Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) .............15 Types .....................................................................66 Western Larch (Larix occidentalis) .....................16 Vegetation ..........................................................66 Western Redcedar (Thuja plicata) ......................16 Fuels ...................................................................66 Western White Pine (Pinus monticola) ...............17 Role of Fire .........................................................68 Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) .......................17 Forest Succession ..............................................71 Undergrowth Response to Fire ................................. 18 Fire Management Considerations ......................73 Fire Effects on Animals .............................................19 Fire Group Five: Moist, Lower Subalpine Habitat Immediate, Direct Effects ...................................19 Types .....................................................................74 Indirect Effects and Animal Responses .............. 19 Vegetation ..........................................................75 Fire Effects and Fire Use: General Fuels ...................................................................75 Considerations .......................................................27 Role of Fire .........................................................77 Planning Prescribed Fires ..................................27 Forest Succession ..............................................78 Fuels ...................................................................30 Fire Management Considerations ......................81 Coarse Woody Debris ........................................ 31 Fire Group Six: Upper Subalpine Habitat Types ....... 82 Predicting Fire-Caused Tree Mortality ................32 Vegetation ..........................................................82 Insects and Diseases .........................................34 Fuels ...................................................................83 Effects on Soils and Hydrology ...........................36 Role of Fire .........................................................83 Effects on Air Quality ..........................................38 Forest Succession ..............................................85 Predicting Succession Quantitatively .................38 Fire Management Considerations ......................86 Fire Management at the Landscape Level .........39 Fire Group Seven: Moderate and Moist Grand Successional Communities Occurring in More Fir Habitat Types ...................................................87 than One Fire Group ..............................................41 Vegetation ..........................................................88 Persistent Seral Shrubfields ...............................41 Fuels ...................................................................88 Seral Lodgepole Pine .........................................43 Role of Fire .........................................................91 Fire Group Zero: Miscellaneous Special Forest Succession ..............................................92 Habitats ..................................................................45 Fire Management Considerations ......................95 Scree Slopes ......................................................45 Fire Group Eight: Moderate and Moist Western Forested Rock Communities ..............................46 Hemlock and Western Redcedar Habitat Wet Meadows .....................................................46 Types .....................................................................98 Deciduous Riparian Communities ......................46 Vegetation ..........................................................99 Alder Glades .......................................................47 Fuels ...................................................................99 Bracken Fern Glades ..........................................47 Role of Fire .......................................................102 Subalpine Parks .................................................47 Forest Succession ............................................104 Fire Group One: Warm, Dry Douglas-fir and Fire Management Considerations .................... 108 Ponderosa Pine Habitat Types ..............................48 Fire Group Nine: Very Moist Western Redcedar Vegetation ..........................................................48