scholarly journals Douglas-Fir Tussock Moth- and Douglas-Fir Beetle-Caused Mortality in a Ponderosa Pine/Douglas-Fir Forest in the Colorado Front Range, USA

Forests ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 3131-3146 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Negrón ◽  
Ann Lynch ◽  
Willis Schaupp ◽  
Javier Mercado
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Colorado Front Range ◽  
Front Range ◽  
Tussock Moth

A field experiment informs expected patterns of conifer regeneration after disturbance under changing climate conditions

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (11) ◽  
pp. 1607-1616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica T. Rother ◽  
Thomas T. Veblen ◽  
Luke G. Furman
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiment ◽  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Tree Regeneration ◽  
Colorado Front Range ◽  
Front Range ◽  
Average Growth ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Treatment Type

Climate change may inhibit tree regeneration following disturbances such as wildfire, altering post-disturbance vegetation trajectories. We implemented a field experiment to examine the effects of manipulations of temperature and water on ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex P. Lawson & C. Lawson) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) seedlings planted in a low-elevation, recently disturbed setting of the Colorado Front Range. We implemented four treatments: warmed only (Wm), watered only (Wt), warmed and watered (WmWt), and control (Co). We found that measures of growth and survival varied significantly by treatment type. Average growth and survival was highest in the Wt plots, followed by the Co, WmWt, and Wm plots, respectively. This general trend was observed for both conifer species, although average growth and survival was generally higher in ponderosa pine than in Douglas-fir. Our findings suggest that warming temperatures and associated drought are likely to inhibit post-disturbance regeneration of ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir in low-elevation forests of the Colorado Front Range and that future vegetation composition and structure may differ notably from historic patterns in some areas. Our findings are relevant to other forested ecosystems in which a warming climate may similarly inhibit regeneration by dominant tree species.

Non-native plant invasions in managed and protected ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forests of the Colorado Front Range

2003 ◽  
Vol 177 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 515-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula J Fornwalt ◽  
Merrill R Kaufmann ◽  
Laurie S Huckaby ◽  
Jason M Stoker ◽  
Thomas J Stohlgren
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Plant Invasions ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Colorado Front Range ◽  
Front Range ◽  
Native Plant

BREEDING BIOLOGY OF THE CHIPPING SPARROW IN PONDEROSA PINE FORESTS OF THE COLORADO FRONT RANGE

2004 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 246-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
HEATHER M. SWANSON ◽  
BREANNA KINNEY ◽  
ALEXANDER CRUZ
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Breeding Biology ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Colorado Front Range ◽  
Front Range ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests

scholarly journals Long-Term Seedfall, Establishment, Survival, and Growth of Natural and Planted Ponderosa Pine in the Colorado Front Range

2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne D. Shepperd ◽  
Carleton B. Edminster ◽  
Stephen A. Mata
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Colorado Front Range ◽  
Initial Growth ◽  
Front Range ◽  
Natural Seedling ◽  
Survival And Growth ◽  
Seed Crops ◽  
Better Than

Abstract Seedfall, natural regeneration establishment, and growth of planted seedlings was observed from 1981 to 2001 under shelterwood and seedtree overstories in a replicated study in ponderosa pine in the Manitou Experimental Forest in the Colorado Front Range. Good seed crops were produced only every 4 to 6 years, with almost no viable seed produced in intervening years. With seed predation, only 14% of total seedfall was available for germination. Shelterwood overstories containing between 6 and 14 m2 ha−1 stem basal area over scarified seedbeds provided optimal conditions for natural seedling establishment. Survival and growth of planted seedlings was much better than that of natural seedlings. However, poor survival and slow initial growth may require many years to establish a fully stocked forest of natural seedlings.

Post-fire soil fluxes of CO2, CH4 and N2O along the Colorado Front Range

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Gathany ◽  
Ingrid C. Burke
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Colorado Front Range ◽  
Front Range ◽  
Soil Co2 Flux ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forests ◽  
Time Since Fire ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Ch4 And N2o

Wildfires affect Rocky Mountain ecosystems across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Many of the resulting changes are greatest for environmental factors, such as substrate and microclimate that control exchanges of greenhouse gases. We investigated this link to understand how time since fire influences the cycling of these gases through ponderosa pine forests. We measured and compared trace gas flux rates between recently burned sites and topographical aspects (north- and south-facing slopes). We calculated the ability of five factors (soil temperature, soil moisture, fire severity, aspect and time since fire) to describe the variability in the flux rates. Our study revealed that carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes were significantly different between sites; however, methane (CH4) uptake was not different between sites or aspects. Nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes had a significant interaction between site and aspect. Using a likelihood approach, we determined the strength of support in the data for model combinations of five variables. Of these, the single variable models soil moisture, time since fire and severity best described the CO2, CH4, and N2O flux data respectively. Our data show that following a forest fire in the Colorado Front Range, >98% of the global warming potential of the measured soil–atmosphere fluxes is contributed by the soil CO2 flux.

Stand response to western spruce budworm and Douglas-fir bark beetle outbreaks, Colorado Front Range

1993 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 479-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith S. Hadley ◽  
Thomas T. Veblen
Keyword(s):  
Bark Beetle ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Colorado Front Range ◽  
Front Range ◽  
Western Spruce Budworm ◽  
Wide Range

The montane forests (i.e., below ca. 2900 m) of the Colorado Front Range have experienced repeated outbreaks of western spruce budworm (Choristoneuraoccidentalis Free.) and Douglas-fir bark beetle (Dendroctonuspseudotsugae Hopk.), both of which locally attack Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco). In this study we examine the effects of historically documented outbreaks of these insects on succession, stand structure, and radial growth of host and nonhost species in Rocky Mountain National Park. The most recent budworm (1974–1985) and bark beetle (1984–present) outbreaks resulted in the most severe and widespread disturbance of these forests since the late 1800s. Stand response to these outbreaks is primarily a function of stand structure and age characteristics of Douglas-fir prior to an outbreak. Young, vigorous postfire stands show minimal budworm defoliation, and in these stands only remnant trees from the prefire generation appear susceptible to beetle-caused mortality. Dense stands exhibit higher budworm-induced mortality, which hastens the natural thinning process and shifts dominance towards the nonhost species. The stands most severely disturbed by the combined insect agents are multistoried stands with high host densities and a wide range of stem sizes. The stand response to these disturbances include the growth release of shade-intolerant, seral species, and in some cases, a higher survivorship among midsized individuals of the host Douglas-fir. The net result of the combined insect outbreaks is the temporary slowing of the successional trend towards a steady-state Douglas-fir forest. Fire suppression, by increasing the density of suppressed Douglas-fir, has previously been shown to favor increased outbreak severity of western spruce budworm in the northern Rockies. However, in the Front Range, recent increases in outbreak severity and their synchroneity may also be the result of large areas of forest, burned during the late 19th century during European settlement, simultaneously entering structural stages susceptible to insect outbreak.

scholarly journals Lumber recovery from dead ponderosa pine in the Colorado front range.

1990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Willits ◽  
Richard O. Woodfin ◽  
Thomas A. Snellgrove
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Colorado Front Range ◽  
Front Range

scholarly journals Lumber recovery from dead ponderosa pine in the Colorado Front Range /

1990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan. Willits ◽  
Thomas A. Snellgrove ◽  
Richard O. Woodfin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Colorado Front Range ◽  
Front Range
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