A landscape plan based on historical fire regimes for a managed forest ecosystem: the Augusta Creek study (original) (raw)
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A Landscape Plan Based on Historical Fire Regimes for a Managed Forest Ecosystem
2000
Introduction Cissel, John H.; Swanson, Frederick J.; Grant, Gordon E.; Olson, Deanna H.; Stanley, Gregory V.; Garman, Steven L.; Ashkenas, Linda R.; Hunter, Matthew G.; Kertis, Jane A.; Mayo, James H.; McSwain, Michelle D.; Swetland, Sam G.; Swindle, Keith A.; Wallin, David O. 1998. A landscape plan based on historical fire regimes for a managed forest ecosystem: the Augusta Creek study. Gen. Tech.
Landscape Management Using Historical Fire Regimes: Blue River, Oregon
Ecological Applications, 1999
Landscapes administered for timber production by the U.S. Forest Service in the Pacific Northwest in the 1950s-1980s were managed with dispersed patch clearcutting, and then briefly in the late 1980s with aggregated patch clear-cutting. In the late 1990s, use of historical landscape patterns and disturbance regimes as a guide for landscape management has emerged as an alternative to the static reserves and standard matrix prescriptions in the Northwest Forest Plan. Use of historical information to guide management recognizes the dynamic and variable character of the landscape and may offer an improved ability to meet ecosystem management objectives.
Landscape Evaluation for Restoration Planning on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, USA
Sustainability, 2013
Land managers in the western US are beginning to understand that early 20th century forests displayed complex patterns of composition and structure at several different spatial scales, that there was interplay between patterns and processes within and across scales, and that these conditions have been radically altered by management. Further, they know that restoring integrity (see Definition of Terms) of these conditions has broad implications for the future sustainability (see Definition of Terms) of native species, ecosystem services, and ecological processes. Many are looking for methods to restore (see Definition of Terms) more natural landscape patterns of habitats and more naturally functioning disturbance regimes; all in the context of a warming climate. Attention is turning to evaluating whole landscapes at local and regional scales, deciphering recent changes in trajectories, and formulating landscape prescriptions that can restore ecological functionality and improve landscape resilience (see Definition of Terms). The business of landscape evaluation and developing landscape prescriptions is inherently complex, but with the advent of decision support systems, software applications are now available to conduct and document these evaluations. Here, we review several published landscape evaluation and planning applications designed with the Ecosystem Management Decision Support (EMDS) software, and present an evaluation we developed in support of a
Characterizing historical and modern fire regimes in Michigan (USA): A landscape ecosystem approach
Landscape Ecology, 2000
We studied the relationships of landscape ecosystems to historical and contemporary fire regimes across 4.3 million hectares in northern lower Michigan ͑USA͒. Changes in fire regimes were documented by comparing historical fire rotations in different landscape ecosystems to those occurring between 1985 and 2000. Previously published data and a synthesis of the literature were used to identify six forest-replacement fire regime categories with fire rotations ranging from very short ͑ Ͻ 100 years͒ to very long ͑ Ͼ 1,000 years͒. We derived spatiallyexplicit estimates of the susceptibility of landscape ecosystems to fire disturbance using Landtype Association maps as initial units of investigation. Each Landtype Association polygon was assigned to a fire regime category based on associations of ecological factors known to influence fire regimes. Spatial statistics were used to interpolate fire points recorded by the General Land Office. Historical fire rotations were determined by calculating the area burned for each category of fire regime and dividing this area by fifteen ͑years͒ to estimate area burned per annum. Modern fire rotations were estimated using data on fire location and size obtained from federal and state agencies. Landtype Associations networked into fire regime categories exhibited differences in both historical and modern fire rotations. Historical rotations varied by 23-fold across all fire rotation categories, and modern forest fire rotations by 13-fold. Modern fire rotations were an order of magnitude longer than historical rotations. The magnitude of these changes has important implications for forest health and understanding of ecological processes in most of the fire rotation categories that we identified.
2006
Fuel reduction efforts on BLM lands in southwestern Oregon are motivated by the need to reduce fire hazard and restore and rehabilitate ecosystems. Successful ecosystem restoration depends, in part, on understanding the target: what ecosystem model is considered natural and healthy for a given area? Oak (Quercus garryana) woodlands and shrublands are two of the most characteristic ecosystems in interior valleys of southwest Oregon, and extensive acreages within these systems are treated annually for fuel reduction. However, these are also two of the least understood ecosystems in the region. We know little about their presettlement attributes, responses to disturbance, or successional relationships. This study was intended to provide insight into historical patterns of vegetation in interior valleys of southwest OR, dating back to the time of initial settlement by Europeans, and into current vegetation patterns and stand structures for chaparral and oak woodlands. We analyzed changes in vegetation between the pre-fire suppression era and the present, examining in particular the direction and magnitude of change in vegetation that is considered to be fire dependent, particularly oak woodlands and shrublands. Results advance our understanding of the relationships of plant communities to fire, and also provide insight into the degree to which current fuel reduction prescriptions reflect past burn regimes. Several sources of historical information on vegetation and fire were used, including: (1) General Land Office (GLO) surveys, the majority of which were completed early in the settlement period (1854-1858) [we relied most heavily on these sources of information]; (2) Homestead Patent Application maps (~1905-1915); and (3) Donation Land Claim surveys (mid-1800's). Standardized methods of interpreting these sources were used in this work. Resultant maps of presettlement vegetation were digitized, allowing comparison with recent aerial photographs and with GIS layers of current information on vegetation, soils, and other site attributes. Proportions of the landscape falling in various vegetation types were compared quantitatively between the past and the present and transitions between vegetation types were assessed quantitatively in relation to site environment and disturbance history. The digitized data on historical and current fire and vegetation will provide valuable baseline information against which future changes in vegetation or disturbance regime can be assessed. We also carried out analyses of age and size structures for oaks and chaparral shrubs (Arctostaphylos viscida and Ceanothus cuneatus), and analyzed these structures in relation to site characteristics and known fire history. While oak woodlands and chaparral are characteristic features of the landscape in southwestern Oregon, almost nothing is known about their structure or stand dynamics or the drivers of those dynamics. Our work contributes to filling that large information gap, and the research also provides further insights into fire regimes over the past century. Results will enhance the ability of land managers to focus on fuel reduction prescriptions that can be justified both on the basis of hazard reduction and ecosystem restoration and to communicate their rationale to the concerned public. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE As directed by Congress, the National Fire Plan outlined, " a comprehensive approach to the management of wildland fire, hazardous fuels, and ecosystem restoration and rehabilitation" [http://www.fireplan.gov/reports/7-19-en.pdf\]. In line with these directives, the Medford District of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in southwest OR has reduced fuels on ~20,000 acres per year for the past several years. Prescriptions in oak woodland and chaparral systems generally call for retention of Revision in final review