Fire history and climatic patterns in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests of the Jemez Mountains, Northern New Mexico
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Abstract
We reconstructed fire history in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests across the Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico. We collected fire-scarred samples from ten ponderosa pine areas, and three mesic mixed-conifer areas. Prior to 1900, ponderosa pine forests were characterized by high frequency, low intensity surface fire regimes. The mixed-conifer stands sustained somewhat less frequent surface fires, along with patchy crown fires. We also examined the associations between past fires and winter-spring precipitation. In both ponderosa pine and mixed- conifer forests, precipitation was significantly reduced in the winter-spring period immediately prior to fire occurrence. In addition, winter-spring precipitation during the second year preceding major fire years in the ponderosa pine forest was significantly increased. The results of this study pro- vide baseline knowledge concerning the ecological role of fire in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests. This information is vital to support ongoing ecosystem management efforts in the Jemez Mountains.
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Federal Government Series |
| Title | Fire history and climatic patterns in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer forests of the Jemez Mountains, Northern New Mexico |
| Series title | U.S. Forest Service General Technical Report |
| Series number | RM-GTR-286 |
| DOI | 10.2737/RM-GTR-286 |
| Year Published | 1996 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station |
| Publisher location | Fort Collins, CO |
| Contributing office(s) | Fort Collins Science Center |
| Description | 14 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Report |
| Larger Work Subtype | Federal Government Series |
| Larger Work Title | Fire effects in southwestern forests: Proceedings of the second La Mesa Fire symposium (U.S. Forest Service General Technical Report RM-GTR-286) |
| First page | 33 |
| Last page | 46 |
| Conference Title | Second La Mesa Fire symposium |
| Conference Location | Los Alamos, NM |
| Conference Date | March 29-31, 1996 |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Mexico |
| Other Geospatial | Jemex Mountains |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |