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Influence of landscape structure, topography, and forest type on spatial variation in historical fire regimes, Central Oregon, USA

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Abstract

Context

In the interior Northwest, debate over restoring mixed-conifer forests after a century of fire exclusion is hampered by poor understanding of the pattern and causes of spatial variation in historical fire regimes.

Objectives

To identify the roles of topography, landscape structure, and forest type in driving spatial variation in historical fire regimes in mixed-conifer forests of central Oregon.

Methods

We used tree rings to reconstruct multicentury fire and forest histories at 105 plots over 10,393 ha. We classified fire regimes into four types and assessed whether they varied with topography, the location of fuel-limited pumice basins that inhibit fire spread, and an updated classification of forest type.

Results

We identified four fire-regime types and six forest types. Although surface fires were frequent and often extensive, severe fires were rare in all four types. Fire regimes varied with some aspects of topography (elevation), but not others (slope or aspect) and with the distribution of pumice basins. Fire regimes did not strictly co-vary with mixed-conifer forest types.

Conclusions

Our work reveals the persistent influence of landscape structure on spatial variation in historical fire regimes and can help inform discussions about appropriate restoration of fire-excluded forests in the interior Northwest. Where the goal is to restore historical fire regimes at landscape scales, managers may want to consider the influence of topoedaphic and vegetation patch types that could affect fire spread and ignition frequency.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Meg Krawchuk, Don Falk, Matt Reilly, Emily Comfort, and two anonymous reviews for comments on earlier drafts. This work was facilitated through the Nature Conservancy, Deschutes National Forest, and the Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project. Funding was provided by the Oregon Department of Forestry, the Deschutes National Forest, and the USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station. We thank Pete Caligiuri and Mark Stern for their assistance in coordinating and implementing the project. We thank Pete Powers for his summary of management history in the study area. We thank Calvin Farris for his methodological assistance with mapping historical fires, and Chris Zanger, Keith Olsen, and Ray Davis for help with GIS work. We thank Abby Eurich, Brent Gaither, Kelly Regan, James Johnston, Kayla Johnston, Dawn Pepper, Ben Hart, Lauren Matoszuik, Andrés Holz, Bobby Burdick, and Beatrice Serrano-Martinez for assistance in the field and with dendrochronological work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest Engineering Resources and Management, College of Forestry, Oregon State University, 3200 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR, 97333, USA

    Andrew G. Merschel

  2. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, MT, 59808, USA

    Emily K. Heyerdahl

  3. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA

    Thomas A. Spies

  4. US Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK, 99508, USA

    Rachel A. Loehman

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  1. Andrew G. Merschel
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  2. Emily K. Heyerdahl
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  3. Thomas A. Spies
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  4. Rachel A. Loehman
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Correspondence to Andrew G. Merschel.

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Merschel, A.G., Heyerdahl, E.K., Spies, T.A. et al. Influence of landscape structure, topography, and forest type on spatial variation in historical fire regimes, Central Oregon, USA. Landscape Ecol 33, 1195–1209 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-018-0656-6

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