Title:

Effects of single and repeat wildfires on forest structure and fuels in the South Fork Flathead watershed within the Bob Marshall Wilderness

Author(s):

Larson, Andrew J.; Belote, R. Travis; Berkey, Julia K.; Maher, Colin T.

Publication Year:

2018

How to Cite:

These data were collected using funding from the U.S. Government and can be used without additional permissions or fees. If you use these data in a publication, presentation, or other research product please use the following citation:

Larson, Andrew J.; Belote, R. Travis; Berkey, Julia K.; Maher, Colin T. 2018. Effects of single and repeat wildfires on forest structure and fuels in the South Fork Flathead watershed within the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2018-0059

Abstract:

Wilderness areas offer value to society as a source of scientific information. In 2011, 2012, and 2015 we collected data on tree stands, seedling and sapling regeneration, fuel loads, and ground cover on up to 30 sites within South Fork Flathead River Valley of the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana. All 30 sites had burned within the last decade, which allowed for investigation into the drivers of fire effects that produce heterogeneous post-fire tree and stand-level mortality. Tree survival 8–13 years after fire depended on complex interactions between species, size, and initial burn severity. Following the initial round of data collection, 10 sites reburned. These sites were directly across the Flathead River from 10 sites that remained once-burned, which allowed us to quantify the effects of a recent reburn on forest structure and fuels using a before-after-control-impact study design. Data include tree stand data, regeneration data, fuels, and estimates of ground cover. Managers can use this data set to inform the design and monitoring of forest landscape restoration prescriptions.

Keywords:

biota; environment; Ecology, Ecosystems, & Environment; Ecology; Landscape ecology; Fire; Fire ecology; Natural Resource Management & Use; Wilderness; wilderness management; wildland fire use; reburns; fire effects; fire management; JFSP; Joint Fire Science Program; Damnation Creek; South Fork Flathead; Bob Marshall Wilderness; Montana

Related publications:

• Belote, R. Travis; Larson, Andrew J.; Dietz, Matthew S. 2015. Tree survival scales to community-level effects following mixed-severity fire in a mixed-conifer forest. Forest Ecology and Management. 353: 221-231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.05.033

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