Patterns and Predictors of Crown Fire induced Type Conversion in Dry Conifer Forests
Haffey CM. 2014. Patterns and Predictors of Crown Fire induced Type Conversion in Dry Conifer Forests. Northern Arizona University
Since 1996, high-severity crown fires in Southwestern ponderosa pine forests have produced large treeless areas, which are unprecedented in the regional historic record. Other dry conifer forests, similar to ponderosa pine, are also experiencing extensive high-severity crown fires that are creating conditions unique in the evolutionary history of these forests. Recent crown fires have reset large portions of southwestern forest landscapes, creating opportunities for successional vegetation communities to alter ecological trajectories away from a return to the pre-fire forest type, which can lead to type conversion. I conducted a synthesis of the peer-reviewed scientific literature and carried out an empirical and modeling study to examine patterns of landscapes change and predictors of ecosystem type conversion.
- Type
- Academic
- Authors
- Haffey, Collin
- Date of Issue
- 2014-05
- Publisher
- Northern Arizona University
- Units
- BAND
- Keywords
- climate change, crown fire, drought, ponderosa pine forest, thesis, vegetation