scholarly journals Fire Regime in Marginal Jack Pine Populations at Their Southern Limit of Distribution, Riding Mountain National Park, Central Canada

Forests ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques Tardif ◽  
Stephen Cornelsen ◽  
France Conciatori ◽  
Eben Hodgin ◽  
Marlow Pellatt
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Southern Limit ◽  
Central Canada ◽  
Riding Mountain National Park

scholarly journals The distribution of woody species in relation to climate and fire in Yosemite National Park, California, USA

Fire Ecology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan W. van Wagtendonk ◽  
Peggy E. Moore ◽  
Julie L. Yee ◽  
James A. Lutz
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Species Distribution ◽  
National Park ◽  
Woody Plant ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Yosemite National Park ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Ecological Zones ◽  
Woody Plant Species

Abstract Background The effects of climate on plant species ranges are well appreciated, but the effects of other processes, such as fire, on plant species distribution are less well understood. We used a dataset of 561 plots 0.1 ha in size located throughout Yosemite National Park, in the Sierra Nevada of California, USA, to determine the joint effects of fire and climate on woody plant species. We analyzed the effect of climate (annual actual evapotranspiration [AET], climatic water deficit [Deficit]) and fire characteristics (occurrence [BURN] for all plots, fire return interval departure [FRID] for unburned plots, and severity of the most severe fire [dNBR]) on the distribution of woody plant species. Results Of 43 species that were present on at least two plots, 38 species occurred on five or more plots. Of those 38 species, models for the distribution of 13 species (34%) were significantly improved by including the variable for fire occurrence (BURN). Models for the distribution of 10 species (26%) were significantly improved by including FRID, and two species (5%) were improved by including dNBR. Species for which distribution models were improved by inclusion of fire variables included some of the most areally extensive woody plants. Species and ecological zones were aligned along an AET-Deficit gradient from cool and moist to hot and dry conditions. Conclusions In fire-frequent ecosystems, such as those in most of western North America, species distribution models were improved by including variables related to fire. Models for changing species distributions would also be improved by considering potential changes to the fire regime.

Eighty years of change: vegetation in the montane ecoregion of Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (11) ◽  
pp. 2010-2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanine M Rhemtulla ◽  
Ronald J Hall ◽  
Eric S Higgs ◽  
S Ellen Macdonald
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Reference Conditions ◽  
Habitat Diversity ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Jasper National Park ◽  
Closed Canopy

Repeat ground photographs (taken in 1915 and 1997) from a series of topographical survey stations and repeat aerial photographs (flown in 1949 and 1991) were analysed to assess changes in vegetation composition and distribution in the montane ecoregion of Jasper National Park, in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada. A quantitative approach for assessing relative vegetation change in repeat ground photographs was developed and tested. The results indicated a shift towards late-successional vegetation types and an increase in crown closure in coniferous stands. Grasslands, shrub, juvenile forest, and open forests decreased in extent, and closed-canopy forests became more prevalent. The majority of forest stands succeeded to dominance by coniferous species. Changes in vegetation patterns were likely largely attributable to shifts in the fire regime over the last century, although climatic conditions and human activity may also have been contributing factors. Implications of observed changes include decreased habitat diversity, increased possibility of insect outbreaks, and potential for future high-intensity fire events. Results of the study increase knowledge of historical reference conditions and may help to establish restoration goals for the montane ecoregion of the park.

Fire regimes and interval-sensitive vegetation in semiarid Gregory National Park, northern Australia

2010 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Russell-Smith ◽  
Cameron P. Yates ◽  
Chris Brock ◽  
Vanessa C. Westcott
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Stem Density ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Juvenile Period ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Fine Fuels ◽  
Ecologically Sustainable

Few data are available concerning contemporary fire regimes and the responses of fire interval-sensitive vegetation types in semiarid woodland savanna landscapes of northern Australia. For a 10 300 km2 semiarid portion of Gregory National Park, in the present paper we describe (1) components of the contemporary fire regime for 1998–2008, on the basis of assessments derived from Landsat and MODIS imagery, (2) for the same period, the population dynamics, and characteristic fine-fuel loads associated with Acacia shirleyi Maiden (lancewood), an obligate seeder tree species occurring in dense monodominant stands, and (3) the fire responses of woody species, and fine-fuel dynamics, sampled in 41 plots comprising shrubby open-woodland over spinifex hummock grassland. While rain-year (July–June) rainfall was consistently reliable over the study period, annual fire extent fluctuated markedly, with an average of 29% being fire affected, mostly in the latter part of the year under relatively harsh fire-climate conditions. Collectively, such conditions facilitated short fire-return intervals, with 30% of the study area experiencing a repeat fire within 1 year, and 80% experiencing a repeat fire within 3 years. Fine fuels associated with the interior of lancewood thickets were characteristically small (<1 t ha–1). Fine fuels dominated by spinifex (Triodia spp.) were found to accumulate at rates equivalent to those observed under higher-rainfall conditions. Stand boundaries of A. shirleyi faired poorly under prevailing fire regimes over the study period; in 16 plots, juvenile density declined 62%, and adult stem density and basal area declined by 53% and 40%, respectively. Although the maturation (primary juvenile) period of A. shirleyi is incompletely known, assembled growth rate and phenology data indicated that it is typically >10 years. Of 133 woody species sampled, all trees (n = 26), with the exception of A. shirleyi, were resprouters, and 58% of all shrub species (n = 105) were obligate seeders, with observed primary juvenile periods <5 years. Assembled data generally supported observations made from other northern Australian studies concerning the responses of fire-sensitive woody taxa in rugged, sandstone-derived landscapes, and illustrated the enormous challenges facing ecologically sustainable fire management in such settings. Contemporary fire regimes of Gregory National Park are not ecologically sustainable.

scholarly journals A Comparison of Fire Regimes and Stand Dynamics in Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis) Communities in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 123-128
Author(s):  
William Romme ◽  
James Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Yellowstone National Park ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Grizzly Bear ◽  
Pinus Albicaulis ◽  
Whitebark Pine ◽  
Greater Yellowstone

Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) is a keystone species of upper subalpine ecosystems (Tomback et al. 2001), and is especially important in the high-elevation ecosystems of the northern Rocky Mountains (Arno and Hoff 1989). Its seeds are an essential food source for the endangered grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), particularly in the autumn, prior to winter denning (Mattson and Jonkel 1990, Mattson and Reinhart 1990, Mattson et al. 1992). In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), biologists have concluded that the fate of grizzlies is intrinsically linked to the health of the whitebark pine communities found in and around Yellowstone National Park (YNP) (Mattson and Merrill 2002). Over the past century, however, whitebark pine has severely declined throughout much of its range as a result of an introduced fungus, white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) (Hoff and Hagle 1990, Smith and Hoffman 2000, McDonald and Hoff 2001), native pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) infestations (Bartos and Gibson 1990, Kendall and Keane 2001), and, perhaps in some locations, successional replacement related to fire exclusion and fire suppression (Amo 2001). The most common historical whitebark pine ftre regimes are "stand-replacement", and "mixed­ severity" regimes (Morgan et al. 1994, Arno 2000, Arno and Allison-Bunnell2002). In the GYE, mixed-severity ftre regimes have been documented in whitebark pine forests in the Shoshone National forest NW of Cody, WY (Morgan and Bunting 1990), and in NE Yellowstone National Park (Barrett 1994). In Western Montana and Idaho, mixed fire regimes have been documented in whitebark pine communities in the Bob Marshall Wilderness (Keane et al. 1994), Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness (Brown et al. 1994), and the West Bighole Range (Murray et al.1998). Mattson and Reinhart (1990) found a stand­replacing fire regime on the Mount Washburn Massif, within Yellowstone National Park.

Human influences superseded climate to disrupt the 20th century fire regime in Jasper National Park, Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 10-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphaël D. Chavardès ◽  
Lori D. Daniels ◽  
Ze’ev Gedalof ◽  
David W. Andison
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Jasper National Park

scholarly journals Visualizing When, Where, and How Fires Happen in U.S. Parks and Protected Areas

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 333
Author(s):  
Nicole C. Inglis ◽  
Jelena Vukomanovic
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fire History ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Park Service

Fire management in protected areas faces mounting obstacles as climate change alters disturbance regimes, resources are diverted to fighting wildfires, and more people live along the boundaries of parks. Evidence-based prescribed fire management and improved communication with stakeholders is vital to reducing fire risk while maintaining public trust. Numerous national fire databases document when and where natural, prescribed, and human-caused fires have occurred on public lands in the United States. However, these databases are incongruous and non-standardized, making it difficult to visualize spatiotemporal patterns of fire and engage stakeholders in decision-making. We created interactive decision analytics (“VISTAFiRe”) that transform fire history data into clear visualizations of the spatial and temporal dimensions of fire and its management. We demonstrate the utility of our approach using Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park as examples of protected areas experiencing fire regime change between 1980 and 2017. Our open source visualizations may be applied to any data from the National Park Service Wildland Fire Events Geodatabase, with flexibility to communicate shifts in fire regimes over time, such as the type of ignition, duration and magnitude, and changes in seasonal occurrence. Application of the tool to Everglades and Big Cypress revealed that natural wildfires are occurring earlier in the wildfire season, while human-caused and prescribed wildfires are becoming less and more common, respectively. These new avenues of stakeholder communication are allowing the National Park Service to devise research plans to prepare for environmental change, guide resource allocation, and support decision-making in a clear and timely manner.

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