disturbances, and in some parts of its range it may ing and managing both the spread of fire and subse- Introduction This report examines the status of our scientific reproduce by prolific acorn production and germi- quent impacts fires have on post-fire ecology are knowledge about the ecology and concomitant nation. Thus oak remains one of the most important considerations in oak management. management implications of Gambel oak and asso- Gambel oak is a prominent and ecologically persistent, stable, and common components in the Gambel Oak Ecology and Management in important component of natural vegetation in the ciated species, with a geographic focus on Colorado landscape even after severe disturbance. Spe- Previous Gambel oak research and cur- Southern Rocky Mountains and Southwest. Wood- and Utah where published literature is notably limit- cies-specific differences in environmental and soil rent assessment the Southern Rockies: land and shrub communities dominated by Gambel ed. Through this effort we hope to set the stage for requirements, response to disturbances, and repro- increased discussion and research that will provide Considerable research has been done on Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) are widely distributed in Colo- ductive processes contribute to the wide range of oak vegetation (see suggested reading list), but rado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. Gambel land managers with a more complete understanding associations and community types that include The Status of Our Knowledge of the Gambel oak ecosysyems throughout the because oak occurs over such a wide range of land- oak has long been recognized to have important Gambel oak. scape settings and conditions throughout much of benefits and uses such as supplying high-quality Southern Rockies region. Wildfire and Gambel oak the southwestern US, generalizations about oak fuelwood and wildlife habitat, and has been man- ecology and management have been elusive. This aged for various benefits for a century or more. In Under moderate burning conditions, Gambel oak is report reviews the status of our knowledge about Colorado and Utah, oak is generally found on mod- resistant to fire spread and can serve as a “green- oak ecology and management in Colorado and erate to steep slopes, and on a diverse range of soil belt”. However, Gambel oak communities often Utah, where research is notably incomplete. While types. With understory grasses, forbs, and other have heavy and continuous fuels, and under more many informal studies have been conducted in these shrub species, oak provides primary protection severe burning conditions, wildland fires may be two states, and numerous valuable experiences can against soil erosion over large areas. explosive and difficult to suppress. Even in com- be shared, few of these have adhered to sound plex, diverse landscapes natural fuel breaks may be scientific procedures or have been well documented Diverse wildlife species, both large and small, utilize relatively uncommon. Wildland fires in Gambel oak and made available in published form. oak for food and cover. Wildlife use often varies shrublands pose serious threats to firefighters and seasonally depending on migration patterns across the public. Fast-moving fires can rapidly consume While a significant portion of the content in this both longitudes and elevations. Gambel oak is a report reflects information found in published Figure 1. The geographic distribution of Gambel oak through- large areas of vegetation and in some cases carry preferred habitat type for elk and deer during out the Southern Rockies region by county (Map data: USGS. intense fire into the wildland/urban interface where literature, a large amount of information was winter months when snow limits accessibility to 1971, USDA 2016) human life and property are at risk. The memorable obtained through workshops and interactions with higher elevations and where oak is not too dense. 1994 South Canyon Fire in Gambel oak on Storm individuals having experience in Gambel oak ecolo- Black bears and turkeys utilize Gambel oak for General environment King Mountain near Glenwood Springs, Colorado gy and management but whose findings have not spring habitat, and acorns are an important fall Gambel oak and associated species in Colorado and was particularly devastating, killing 14 firefighters. been published. We have chosen not to cite refer- food resource for a variety of species. In many Utah occur primarily at the lower forest ecotones In 2012, Gambel oak contributed to intense fire ences in the text as normally done for published areas, oak-dominated communities have provided and are frequently found in a band separating or behavior reaching well into urban areas in Colorado scientific works, in part because this is an assess- herbaceous plants for domestic livestock grazing overlapping with forest and grassland or sagebrush Springs, Colorado, with the loss of more than 300 ment of our knowledge including insights from for well over a century. zones. Gambel oak may be the sole dominant in homes during the Waldo Canyon Fire. Understand- unpublished studies and observations. Therefore, a woodlands or shrublands covering extensive areas, suggested reading list has been provided that com- Throughout their range, Gambel oak shrublands or it may be associated with prairie grass communi- piles known scientific research in the central and have been impacted extensively by both natural and ties, montane sagebrush steppe, mountain shrub- southern Rockies area. Additionally, readers may human-caused disturbances, including fire, fire lands, piñon/juniper woodlands, or forests com- refer to a publication on Gambel oak by Simonin suppression, grazing, and mechanical treatments. A posed of various combinations of ponderosa pine, (2000) in the Fire Effects Information System host of management practices have been imple- Douglas-fir, white fir, quaking aspen and big-tooth (FEIS), a helpful resource for finding much of the mented for a range of intended objectives and have maple (See figure 4). For clarification of terminolo- literature that is available. focused more on pure or nearly pure Gambel oak gy used in this document, Gambel oak shrublands Our goal in this report is to assess the status of our communities instead of those dominated by other or simply oak or oak shrublands refer to Gambel knowledge (both published and unpublished) about mountain shrubs. Yet the ecology of pure or nearly oak communities including associated shrubland oak ecology and management in Colorado and SRFSN Publication 2016-1 pure Gambel oak communities and effects of natu- and tree species. Where Gambel oak occurs alone Utah. We examine the various types of stands and Merrill R. Kaufmann, Daniel W. Huisjen, Stanley Kitchen, Mike Babler, Scott R. Abella, Todd ral and human disturbances on them are not well as pure stands or patches, terms such as pure communities featuring Gambel oak in this S. Gardiner, Darren McAvoy, Josh Howie, Douglas H. Page Jr. understood. Furthermore, there is widespread Gambel oak or pure oak will be used. recognition that management practices often fail to geographic area. We review the knowledge available and gaps in our understanding, and summarize achieve desired benefits, or that benefits exist too Gambel oak tolerates a wide range of environmen- research needs for improving our ecological under- briefly to justify treatment expense. tal and soil conditions. Furthermore, Gambel oak standing and evaluating management objectives and readily resprouts after fire, heavy grazing, or other practices. Two stages of investigation were undertaken to Other tree species associated with Gambel oak may or sprouting through to maturity. Gambel oak many, if not most, attempts to suppress it. develop a current assessment. First, a literature be important locally but less common regionally, attains individual plant/clone longevity through Nonetheless, with relatively little knowledge about review was completed in 2013 searching for any including bigtooth maple, aspen, and white fir. vegetative reproduction in environments rarely historical oak ecology, it is unclear if oak commu- available science in the central Rockies and South- favorable for new seedling establishment. Exten- nities and associations with other species are in a west regions. Second, a series of three small regional Key Point Two: Considerable uncertainty sive root systems and re-sprouting facilitate rapid healthy, sustainable condition. For example, is workshops was held in 2014, one in Utah and two in exists about the long-term ecology of recovery of plants and clones not only in response ponderosa pine with an understory of thick shrub- Colorado (west and east of the Continental Divide) Gambel oak ecosystems. to fire and drought, but also following other by oak at risk of elimination by catastrophic fire, or in areas where Gambel oak management is a signifi- Gambel oak occurs not only across a range of natural disturbances such as frost damage or insect is sagebrush with oak sustainable or at risk of cant issue. At each of these workshops, discussion community types, but also a range of growth attack, and they provide an advantage for oak over being overtaken by oak? Do ecosystems with an focused on developing a set of key points to deter- forms and environmental conditions. Oak com- other species competing for limited resources. oak component provide historically appropriate mine our degree of understanding of Gambel oak munities exist and survive as clones and rely on benefits and conditions for local and migratory ecology and management and any significant differ- resprouting after severe disturbance that kills The role of Gambel oak in successional trajectories animals? Moreover, with other oak species in ences among the three regions. We welcomed above-ground parts. Mature plants and sprouting varies widely depending in large part on the types different regions already being afflicted or devastat- insights based upon field experience as much as root systems may have greater environmental of plant communities present and the life cycle and ed by introduced pests, will a pest emerge that will those found in published form.