Pre‐fire drought and competition mediate post‐fire conifer mortality in western U.S. National Parks

Abstract (from Ecological Society of America): Tree mortality is an important outcome of many forest fires. Extensive tree injuries from fire may lead directly to mortality, but environmental and biological stressors may also contribute to tree death. However, there is little evidence showing how the combined effects of two common stressors, drought and competition, influence post‐fire mortality. Geographically broad observations of three common western coniferous trees subjected to prescribed fire showed the likelihood of post‐fire mortality was related to intermediate‐term (10 yr) pre‐fire average radial growth, an important component of tree vigor. Path analysis showed that indices of competition and drought...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Drought, Drought, Fire and Extreme Weather, Fire, Southwest CASC

The influence of pre-fire growth patterns on post-fire tree mortality for common conifers in western US parks

Abstract (from International Journal of Wildland Fire): Fire severity in forests is often defined in terms of post-fire tree mortality, yet the influences on tree mortality following fire are not fully understood. Pre-fire growth may serve as an index of vigour, indicating resource availability and the capacity to recover from injury and defend against pests. For trees that are not killed immediately by severe fire injury, tree growth patterns could therefore partially predict post-fire mortality probabilities. Here, we consider the influence of multiple growth patterns on post-fire tree mortality for three common conifer species in the western USA. Using observations from 1 to 9 years following prescribed fires...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation