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High-severity fires in dry conifer forests of the United States Southwest have created large (>1000 ha) treeless areas that are unprecedented in the regional historical record. These fires have reset extensive portions of Southwestern ponderosa…
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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…
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Fuel-reduction treatments have been used effectively in dry, fire-adapted forests to reduce risk of high-severity crown fire, but it is less certain if they achieve their ecosystem restoration objectives. To date, there has not been a comprehensive…
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Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm.) forests play a prominent role throughout high-elevation ecosystems in the northern Rocky Mountains, however, they are vanishing from the high mountain landscape due to three factors: exotic white pine…
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Restoration and rehabilitation of native vegetation in dryland ecosystems, which encompass over 40% of terrestrial ecosystems, is a common challenge that continues to grow as wildfire and biological invasions transform dryland plant communities. The…
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Building resilience to natural disturbances is a key to managing forests for adaptation to climate change. To date, most climate adaptation guidance has focused on recommendations for frequent‐fire forests, leaving few published guidelines for…
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Shifting climates and annual grass invasions have contributed to the increased number and size of fires in the western United States costing millions of dollars in fire suppression and post-fire rehabilitation. Post-fire rehabilitation implements…
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The ecological literature offers many conflicting recommendations for how managers should respond to ecosystem change and novelty. We propose a framework in which forest managers may achieve desired forest characteristics by combining strategies for…
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Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (Mayr) Franco), and western larch (Larix occidentalis Nutt.) are species of ecological and commercial importance that occur throughout the Western United States. Effective reforestation of these species…
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Although burned trees are the most visible damage following a wildfire, a forest’s soil can also be damaged. The heat generated by a wildfire can alter the soil’s physical properties and kill the fungi and bacteria that are responsible for nutrient…
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To increase ecosystem resiliency, and achieve the desired future condition of stands with large tree retention and low fuel loads, federal agencies have actively implemented a large number of fuel reduction and forest restoration projects in low-…
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In western North America ectomycorrhizal fungi are critical to establishment of conifers in low nitrogen soils. Fire can affect both ectomycorrhizal fungi and soil properties, and inoculation with ectomycorrhizal fungi is recommended when planting…
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Designer niches in which environmental variables are controlled are useful in forest restoration to enhance survival of planted tree seedlings. Here, we evaluate particular manipulated habitats, on site variables, and pre-seedling conditions…
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We used data collected from >1400 plots by a national forest inventory to quantify population-level indicators for a tree species of concern. Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) has recently experienced high mortality throughout its US range, where…
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Natural resource managers need to know how past wildfires influence the severity and ecological effects of subsequent wildfires fires in order to make informed decisions during and after wildfire events, and to effectively plan for the future. The…
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Extensive high‐severity wildfires have driven major losses of ponderosa pine and mixed‐conifer forests in the southwestern United States, in some settings catalyzing enduring conversions to non‐forested vegetation types. Management interventions to…
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Locations within forest fires that remain unburned or burn at low severity—known as fire refugia—are important components of contemporary burn mosaics, but their composition and structure at regional scales are poorly understood. Focusing on recent…
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Fire refugia are landscape elements that remain unburned or minimally affected by fire, thereby supporting postfire ecosystem function, biodiversity, and resilience to disturbances. Although fire refugia have been studied across continents, scales,…
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Historical pre-settlement conditions in ponderosa pine ecosystems ranged from savannas (< 30% canopy cover) with contiguous grasslands and scattered tree groups, to forests with isolated mosaic-meadows surrounded by trees. We use the term mosaic-…
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Whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) has been disappearing from high mountain landscapes due to mountain pine beetle outbreaks, white pine blister rust, human intrusions, and fire exclusion. It is currently a candidate species for listing under the…
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