Disturbance History Of A Mixed Conifer Stand In Central Idaho, USA
Affiliation
Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences, Willamette University,Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University
Dept. of Forestry and Geology, University of the South, 735 University Ave., Sewanee, TN 37383, USA
Dept. of Environmental and Ecological Sciences, Indiana State University
Dept. of Geography, Geology, and Anthropology, Indiana State University
Issue Date
2008-12Keywords
Tree RingsDendrochronology
Boundary Line
Tree Ring
Release Criteria
Suppression Criteria
Disturbance History
Metadata
Show full item recordRights
Copyright © Tree-Ring Society. All rights reserved.Collection Information
This item is part of the Tree-Ring Research (formerly Tree-Ring Bulletin) archive. For more information about this peer-reviewed scholarly journal, please email the Editor of Tree-Ring Research at editor@treeringsociety.org.Publisher
Tree-Ring SocietyJournal
Tree-Ring ResearchCitation
Arabas, K.B., Black,B., Lentile, L., Speer, J., Sparks, J., 2008. Disturbance history of a mixed conifer stand in central Idaho, USA. Tree-Ring Research 64(2):67-80.Abstract
We apply a combination of suppression and release criteria to reconstruct the disturbance history of a ponderosa pine – Douglas-fir stand in central Idaho. In this stand, disturbance, likely fire, induced growth releases in some trees, and sudden, severe suppressions in others. To characterize growth release following disturbance, we developed boundary-line release criteria for Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine. Suppression criteria were applied to identify disturbances defined as a growth reduction of more than 1.8 standard deviations sustained for a minimum of five years. To prevent confusing a true release event with growth increases associated with recovery from suppression, release events were not tallied for at least fifteen years following a suppression event. Release and suppression events were combined to create a disturbance chronology characterized by a high frequency of disturbance between 1820 and 1920. This period of disturbance likely reflects post-European settlement land uses such as grazing and logging as well as an increase in fire frequency. Fire suppression in the latter part of the 20th Century likely explains the decrease in disturbance after 1940. We believe that a combination of release as well as suppression criteria best describes the disturbance history of this stand.ISSN
1536-10982162-4585