Changes in Vegetation and Fuels on the Warm Fire · Lotus wrightii- Wright's deervetch Pseudognaphalium macounii- Cotton cudweed Antennaria parvifolia- Small leaf pussytoes Androsace
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Melissa McMaster1, Andrea Thode1, Ethan Aumack2, and Dave Mertz3
1Northern Arizona University, 2Grand Canyon Trust, 3 Kaibab National Forest
Changes in Vegetation and Fuels on the Warm Fire
Warm Fire
• June 8, 2006, Wildland Fire Use Fire
• Conversion to Wildland Fire
• Burned a total of 24,000 hectares
Warm Fire Vegetation Study
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Jacob Lake
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Legend
Plots
!( Unburned
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!( High severity-seeded
#* Low severity
WFU or WFS
WFS
WFU
Fire severity
Low severity
Moderate Severity
High severity
0 1,800 3,600 5,400 7,200900Meters
Stratification of plots by:
1. Vegetation type
2. Soils
3. Fire severity
4. Elevation
5. Proximity to burn border for
controls
6. 25 per treatment
Plot Selection
Warm Fire Vegetation Study
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Legend
Plots
!( Unburned
") High severity-not seeded
!( High severity-seeded
#* Low severity
WFU or WFS
WFS
WFU
Fire severity
Low severity
Moderate Severity
High severity
0 1,800 3,600 5,400 7,200900Meters
Management
• What does the Kaibab National Forest want to know?
– WFU vs. Wildfire
– Planting project post-fire
– BAER treatments• Seeding of Lolium
multiflorum
What are the results?
Lolium multiflorumAnnual-perennial-hybirdizes
Controversial-effectiveness at erosion control
Competitive advantages over native vegetation
Decreases native cover, richness and diversity
Correlation between ryegrass and lower conifer regeneration
Beyers et al. 1999, Barclay et al. 2004, Keeley et al 2006
2005: 16 GCT (4 seeded, 3 high not seeded, 4 low)
2007: 49 total– 14 plots high severity– 13 plots moderate severity
– 12 plots low severity– 10 control plots
2008: 100 total plots– 25 high fire severity seeded
– 25 high severity not seeded– 25 low severity not seeded– 25 controls
Sampling in 2007 & 2008:
Understory data
– % cover per species
– % cover forbs– % cover total
vegetation– % cover grasses– % cover
substrates (rock, soil, litter, duff, lichen, moss)
– Average height per species
Biomass : 4 1x.25m SpeciesDensity
• Shrub count Fuels-3transects
• Species search
• Canopy cover measurements
• Conifer seedling search
2007: Live ponderosa only for regression analysis
– Tree height– Bole scorch height and severity– DBH to the nearest cm– Height to live crown
• pre and post fire– Percent scorch (black/gone) and torch (brown) of the pre-fire crown
Overstory measurements on all plots for all trees for stand characteristics/analysistree height, DBH, species and live or dead
2008:
• Recorded Live/Dead for all tagged ponderosa pine: 410
• Continued recording stand characteristics for plots– Density/species, tree height, crown base height, DBH
Overstory sampling
Research Questions
• Determine the effects of treatments (seeding and burn intensity) on plant community, native species cover, diversity and richness
• Assess the influence of seeding on conifer regeneration and survivorship
• Determine the effects of treatments (seeding and burn intensity) on exotic plant cover and presence.
Research Questions cont.
• Ponderosa pine mortality
– McHugh and Kolb (2003)
– Predictors of ponderosa pine mortality-
post fire
• Fuels
– What differences do we see in 1, 10, 100 and 1,000 hour fuels in different severities?
– How does litter and duff depth vary by fire severity?
High burn severitySeeded vs. Not seeded
Plant Community Analysis PC-ORD
PerMANOVA: distance based MANOVA
Significant difference in plant community composition
p=.016
68% variation
explained by
seeding
Analysis with environmental variables
H10038
H40508
H40708
H42808H44208H70108
H70508H73208
H73708
H78908
H79908
H85308
H85608
H85708
H86308
H87008
H87108
H87508
H87608
H88108
H98008
H98308
S42108
S44108
S44508
S75608
S76008
S76108
S76408
S76608
S77208
S77308
S77708
S77908
S78408
S78608
S79008
S79208
S79608
S79708
S79808
S97508
S97908
S98108
duff
lichen
litter
poop
rock
soil
nms33_31_09
Axis 1
Axis
3
H or S
1
2
SoilRock
LitterDuff
MossLichenScat
Non-seeded
Seeded
NMS Ordination
Indicator Species Analysis
*** Ponderosa pine and aspen reported as strong indicators for non seeded areas.
Table 1.
Seeded Non-seeded
Lolium multiflorum- Italian ryegrass Pinus ponderosa- Ponderosa pin
Astragalus subcinereus- Sliver's milkvetch Populus tremuloides- Aspen
Linum puberulum- Plain's flax Verbascum thapsus- Wooly mullein
Lotus wrightii- Wright's deervetch Pseudognaphalium macounii- Cotton cudweed
Antennaria parvifolia- Small leaf pussytoes
Androsace septentrionalis- Rock jasmine
Muhlenbergia montana- Mountain Muhly
Indicator species analysis results for significant indicators only (p<.o5)
Table 1.
Seeded Non-seeded
Lolium multiflorum- Italian Ryegrass Pinus ponderosa- Ponderosa pine
Astragalus subcinereus- Silver's milkvetch Populus tremuloides- Aspen
Linum puberulum- Plain's flax Verbascum thalapsum- Wooly mullein
Lotus wrightii- Wright's deervetch Pseudognaphalium stramineu- Cotton cudweed
Antennarria parvifolia- Small leaf pussytoes
Androsace septentrionales- Rock jasmine
Muhlenbergia montana- Mountain Muhly
Indicator species analysis results for significant indicators only
Seeding effects on conifer regeneration and survivorship
• ANOVA
Not statistically significant, BUT so close
p= .053
*Run with community data~ p=.002
Exotic vs. Native cover
• Is Lolium keeping exotic cover low?
• No significant difference between exotic (p=.1743) and
native (p=.4425) cover between seeded vs. not seeded
• Without ryegrass?
Analysis on Bromus spp.
• Is there a difference in presence of Bromus spp. between seeded and not seeded????
Yes! But not what was expected.
Results:
Bromus spp. was present in twice as many non-seeded plots as seeded.
Early conclusions
1. Observed a significant difference in community
composition
2. Competition from the Lolium multiflorum may
be effecting tree seedling recruitment
3. Seeding has various
effects on the presence or cover of exotics
4. The Lolium multiflorum is effecting the plant
community composition now, but what about next
year?
Future Analysis
• Continue with vegetation data
– analysis by severity
– multiple seasons
– functional groups
• Legumes, C3 and C4 grasses, life traits
– annuals vs. perennials
• Regression Analysis of ponderosa pine mortality
• Fuels Analysis-Matt Flying
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Effects on plant community composition after a post-fire reseeding.
• Chapter 3: (maybe combined with 2) Understory vegetation community response to high and low severity fires.
• Chapter 4: Conclusions and Management Implications
Potential thesis chapters
Acknowledgements
• Joint Fire Science Program
• Field Crews
• Grand Canyon Trust Volunteers
• PAPAZ program volunteers
• North Kaibab Folks
– Paul Calloway and John Riling
• Grand Canyon Trust
Thank you.
© 2002 Christopher L. Christie
© 2008 Lynn Watson
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