Temporal and spatial patterns of fire regime disruption in conifer forests of western North America

ABSTRACT

Temporal and spatial patterns of fire regime disruption were reconstructed in conifer forests of western North America from information on pre-disruption and disrupted mean fire intervals (MFIs) of 498 dendrochronology-based fire chronologies. We identified the conifer forest types most affected by MFI shift and the influence of land category designation on MFI change. We also mapped the years of the MFI shift, the last fire recorded, and disrupted/pre-disruption MFI ratios. Fire cessation and longer MFIs predominated in most fire chronologies and conifer forest types. MFI was significantly higher in most conifer forest types, with most differences in dry conifer forests. MFI shift occurred mainly before the designation of protected, federal, social-property, and private areas. MFI shift began in 1829 in the United States of America Southwest, a region subjected to prolonged fire exclusion and with the highest disrupted/pre-disruption MFI ratios. Fire regime disruption moved gradually into the Pacific Northwest and the Sierra Nevada until reaching the northern conifer forests of Canada and Alaska. In contrast, one-third of fire chronologies in Mexican conifer forests retained pre-disruption MFIs. Our findings allowed us to identify areas with MFIs outside of their natural variability, with prolonged fire exclusion, or with intact fire regimes.

KEYWORDS:

• Fire chronology
• fire regime
• fire-scar
• fire suppression
• tree-ring

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the financial and academic support of the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program DGAPA-UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México) to the first author and to PASPA-UNAM support given to the second author. They also thank two anonymous reviewers and Dr. Charles Lafon for their constructive criticism of the manuscript. Special thanks to Dr. Brent Ward and Dr. Heather Clark for English proofreading.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, J. E. S.-C., upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

Postdoctoral Fellowship Program DGAPA-UNAM, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.