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Final Report Supplement - Joint Fire Science Program

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Zotero <strong>Report</strong> zotero://report/items/520446_XG98FERT-520446_89BHQIMS-520446...<br />

A fire history from tree rings in a high-elevation forest of Rocky Mountain National Park<br />

Type Journal Article<br />

Author Arne Buechling<br />

Author William L. Baker<br />

Abstract Historical fire patterns in a subalpine forest of Rocky Mountain National Park were quantified from an analysis<br />

of forest stand ages and fire-scarred trees. A comparatively detailed sample of 3461 tree cores and 212 fire<br />

scars was collected from a 9200-ha study area north of Estes Park, Colorado. A total of 41 fire events were<br />

identified in the record. Annually precise fire dates, beginning in 1533, include 22 high-severity crown fires, 7<br />

low-severity surface fires, and 8 mixed-severity events with both surface and crown fire components. <strong>Fire</strong><br />

rotation was estimated for both surface fires (7587 years) and crown fires (346 years). <strong>Fire</strong> rotation did not<br />

appear to vary with fuel characteristics associated with topographical differences in the study area. <strong>Fire</strong>s larger<br />

than 300 ha were few, but they determined a large proportion of the area burned since 1700 and were<br />

significantly correlated with a reconstructed index of summer drought. Low fire activity in the 20th century was<br />

associated with decreased severity and frequency of drought episodes. Long fire rotations preclude definitive<br />

conclusions regarding the effects of fire suppression in the 20th century, but relationships between high-severity<br />

fires, fuels, and drought suggest that climatic variability remains the primary influence on fire cycles in<br />

high-elevation ecosystems of the southern Rocky Mountains.<br />

Publication Canadian Journal of Forest Research<br />

Volume 34<br />

Issue 6<br />

Pages 1259-1273<br />

Date June 2004<br />

Journal Abbr Can. J. For. Res.<br />

DOI 10.1139/x04-012<br />

ISSN 1208-6037<br />

URL http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/x04-012<br />

Date Added Thursday, August 25, 2011 10:47:25 AM<br />

Modified Wednesday, August 31, 2011 12:33:54 AM<br />

A fire history of a subalpine forest in south-eastern Wyoming, USA<br />

Type Journal Article<br />

Author Kurt F. Kipfmueller<br />

Author William L. Baker<br />

Abstract <strong>Fire</strong> history was determined for part of the Routt-Medicine Bow National Forest in south-eastern Wyoming<br />

using fire-scar and age-class analysis. A composite chronology of fire events was used to determine mean fire<br />

intervals (MFI) for pre-EuroAmerican settlement, EuroAmerican settlement (before 1868 ad), EuroAmerican<br />

settlement and modern (after 1912) periods, for all fires and stand-replacing fires. Point-scale MFI was also<br />

determined using grand means from individual trees. Stand-replacing fires were reconstructed to determine fire<br />

rotation. MFI for the entire time period is 5.5–8.4 years. MFI decreased from 9.3 to 15.7–1.9–2.9 years from the<br />

preto post-EuroAmerican settlement periods, and increased during the modern period. Point-scale MFIs are<br />

longer than MFI of the study area. <strong>Fire</strong> rotation is 182 years for the total period of record, but increased from<br />

127 years during the pre-EuroAmerican settlement period to 170 years during the EuroAmerican settlement<br />

period. <strong>Fire</strong> rotation during the modern period dramatically increased to 27,035 years. Results suggest fire<br />

suppression may have influenced the fire regime. Comparison of regional fire events with fire events from this<br />

study indicate regional weather has an important influence on Rocky Mountain fire regimes.<br />

Publication Journal of Biogeography<br />

Volume 27<br />

Issue 1<br />

Pages 71–85<br />

Date January 2000<br />

Journal Abbr J. Biogeogr.<br />

DOI 10.1046/j.1365-2699.2000.00364.x<br />

ISSN 1365-2699<br />

12 of 626 9/1/2011 11:40 AM

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