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Abstract Background Forest and nonforest ecosystems of the western United States are experiencing major transformations in response to land-use change, climate warming, and their interactive effects with wildland fire. Some ecosystems are transitioning to persistent alternative types, hereafter called “vegetation type conversion” (VTC). VTC is one of the most pressing management issues in the southwestern US, yet current strategies to intervene and address change often use trial-and-error approaches devised after the fact. To better understand how to manage VTC, we gathered managers, scientists, and practitioners from across the southwestern US to collect their experiences with VTC challenges, management responses,...
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These data represent tree diameter, species, mortality status, and plot attributes from 164 plots in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, California. Plots were matched with local records of recent fire history to determine burn status and year burned if applicable. These data support the following publication: van Mantgem, P.J., Caprio, A.C., Stephenson, N.L. and Das, A.J., 2021. Forest Resistance to Extended Drought Enhanced by Prescribed Fire in Low Elevation Forests of the Sierra Nevada. Forests, 12(9), p.1248.
Categories: Data;
Tags: California,
Forestry,
Tulare,
USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC),
Upper Kaweah, All tags...
biota,
controlled fires,
droughts,
ecology,
environment,
forest ecosystems, Fewer tags
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Prescribed fire reduces fire hazards by removing dead and live fuels (small trees and shrubs). Reductions in forest density following prescribed fire treatments (often in concert with mechanical treatments) may also lessen competition so that residual trees might be more likely to survive when confronted with additional stressors, such as drought. The current evidence for these effects is mixed and additional study is needed. Previous work found increased tree survivorship in low elevation forests with a recent history of fire during the early years of an intense drought (2012 to 2014) in national parks in the southern Sierra Nevada. We extend these observations through additional years of intense drought and continuing...
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