Applied historical ecology is the use of historical knowledge in the man- agement of ecosystems. Historical perspectives increase our understanding of the dynamic nature of landscapes and provide a frame of reference for assessing modern patterns and processes. Historical records, however, are often too brief or fragmentary to be useful, or they are not obtainable for the process or structure of interest. Even where long historical time series can be assembled, selection of appropriate reference conditions may be com- plicated by the past influence of humans and the many potential reference conditions encompassed by nonequilibrium dynamics. These complications, however, do not lessen the value of history; rather they underscore the need for multiple, comparative histories from many locations for evaluating both cultural and natural causes of variability, as well as for characterizing the overall dynamical properties of ecosystems. Historical knowledge may not simplify the task of setting management goals and making decisions, but 20th century trends, such as increasingly severe wildfires, suggest that disregarding history can be perilous. We describe examples from our research in the southwestern United States to illustrate some of the values and limitations of applied historical ecology. Paleoecological data from packrat middens and other natural archives have been useful for defining baseline conditions of vegetation communities, determining histories and rates of species range expansions and contractions, and discriminating between natural and cultural causes of environmental change. We describe a montane grassland restoration project in northern New Mexico that was justified and guided by an historical sequence of aerial photographs showing progressive tree invasion during the 20th century. Likewise, fire scar chronologies have been widely used to justify and guide fuel reduction and natural fire reintroduction in forests. A south- western network of fire histories illustrates the power of aggregating historical time series across spatial scales. Regional fire patterns evident in these aggregations point to the key role of interannual lags in responses of fuels and fire regimes to the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (wet/dry cycles), with important implications for long-range fire hazard fore- casting. These examples of applied historical ecology emphasize that detection and expla- nation of historical trends and variability are essential to informed management.

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Applied historical ecology: using the past to manage for the future

Natural disturbances such as lava flows, landslides and glacial moraines, and human-damaged sites such as pavement, road edges and mine wastes often leave little or no soil or biological legacy. This 2003 book provided the first comprehensive summary of how plant, animal and microbial communities develop under the harsh conditions following such dramatic disturbances. The authors examine the basic principles that determine ecosystem development and apply the general rules to the urgent practical need for promoting the reclamation of damaged lands. Written for ecologists concerned with disturbance, landscape dynamics, restoration, life histories, invasions, modeling, soil formation and community or population dynamics, this book will also serve as an authoritative text for graduate students and a valuable reference for professionals involved in land management.

/pdf/primary-succession-and-ecosystem-rehabilitation-46xfnlnrj7.pdf

Primary Succession and Ecosystem Rehabilitation

____________________________________ Brown, James K.; Smith, Jane Kapler, eds. 2000. Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects of fire on flora. Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-42-vol. 2. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 257 p. This state-of-knowledge review about the effects of fire on flora and fuels can assist land managers with ecosystem and fire management planning and in their efforts to inform others about the ecological role of fire. Chapter topics include fire regime classification, autecological effects of fire, fire regime characteristics and postfire plant community developments in ecosystems throughout the United States and Canada, global climate change, ecological principles of fire regimes, and practical considerations for managing fire in an ecosytem context.

/pdf/wildland-fire-in-ecosystems-effects-of-fire-on-flora-3u9thcsxty.pdf

Wildland fire in ecosystems: effects of fire on flora

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews basis for some fundamental techniques, principles, and practices of dendroecology. Dendroecology refers to applications of dendrochronological techniques to problems in ecology. The important ecological problems for which dendroecological techniques are well suited include widespread outbreaks of herbivorous insects in forests, tree decline observed in forests of central and northern Europe and in some areas of the United States, and potential environmental changes brought about by the rising concentration of atmospheric CO 2 and other gases. A variety of structural characteristics of tree rings, such as width, wood density, and vessel size exhibit variability from one ring to the next. The principles and practices of dendroecology—namely, uniformitarianism, limiting factors, crossdating, standardization, variance of the mean and the signal-to-noise ratio, sample replication, tree and site selection, calibration and verification, and modeling are essentially the fundamental framework for understanding the discipline of dendroecology. It is noted that these principles are not laws or rules of nature but are well-tested best inferences based upon known facts at a particular time.

Dendroecology: A Tool for Evaluating Variations in Past and Present Forest Environments

Part I. Introduction: 1. Mediterranean-type climate (MTC) ecosystems and fire 2. Fire and the fire regime framework 3. Fire related plant traits Part II. Regional Patterns: 4. Fire in the Mediterranean basin 5. Fire in California 6. Fire in Chile 7. Fire in the Cape region of South Africa 8. Fire in southern Australia Part III. Comparative Ecology, Evolution and Management: 9. Fire-adaptive trait evolution 10. Fire and the origins of Mediterranean-type vegetation 11. Plant diversity and fire 12. Alien species and fire 13. Fire management of Mediterranean landscapes 14. Climate, fire and geology in the convergence of Mediterranean-type climate ecosystems References Index.

/pdf/fire-in-mediterranean-ecosystems-ecology-evolution-and-2wv8dufrqn.pdf

Fire in Mediterranean Ecosystems: Ecology, Evolution and Management

This book focuses on change in structure and composition of vegetation, specifically forest cover. Thomas T. Veblen and Diane C. Lorenz hope that "The Colorado Front Range" will be used by residents of the area who want to be better informed on resource-management issues. The book includes a description of the Front Range area and an analysis of its forest ecology. The main portion of the text is devoted to sixty-nine sets of matched plates of landscape photographs, the first dating from 1880 to 1915 and the second from the 1980s. Each matched set is accompanied by a brief commentary describing the site and the changes in vegetation that occurred. A short discussion of conclusions completes the text. The photographic core of the book provides all geographers with insights into the evolution of the present-day landscape of the Front Range. Changing forest landscapes has been a dominating process in the evolution of the American landscape, as Michael Williams has documented in his recent "Americans and Their Forests" (1989). Veblen and Lorenz offer a case study in how the process was accomplished in the Colorado Front Range. The repeat photography focuses on effects from three kinds of human settlement: mining camps, railroad construction and utilization, and nationalpark development. The destruction of forests during the nineteenth century, by pioneers who viewed them as a wilderness to conquer, was awesome. Not only were trees harvested as lumber for building, ties for railroad tracks, and fuel, but also cover was burned to expose veins of precious metals. Photographs include samples from all five elevational zones, so variations in altitude, temperature, and moisture may be considered together with the effect of human settlement. Recent forest destruction by the pine-bark beetle and by the spruce budworm is accounted for. The dramatic influence of the national park and forest services in improving the quality of the forest is apparent from viewing the photographs. However, Veblen and Lorenz do note that many of the depicted landscapes were in the early stages of redevelopment when the original photographs were taken. They conclude that many of the forests have regenerated with a climax vegetation similar to that in existence before nineteenth-century settlement, although the cover is often now thicker than it was then. The exception is the replacement of foothill grasslands by ponderosa pines. Veblen and Lorenz offer three explanations: a more mesic climate, overgrazing, and decreased frequency of fire, all of which appear to have tipped the ecological balance in favor of the ponderosa pine. Geographers interested in more than the plant changes along the Front Range might wish for more detail than this volume offers. Nevertheless, the 500

The Colorado Front Range: A Century of Ecological Change

In the rainshadow of the Andean Cordillera in northern Patagonia (ca 39° to 43°S) the steep west-to-east decline in precipitation is reflected by a dramatic gradient from rainforest through open woodlands to shruband bunchgrass-dominated steppe. A recent trend towards aridification of Patagonia and consequent westward expansion of xeric communities into the western rainforest district has been a persistent theme in the ecological literature for nearly 50 years. Specifically, it has been suggested that the xeric trees Austrocedrus chilensis and Nothofagus antarctica are extending their ranges westward and replacing the mesic Nothofagus dombeyi which dominates the rainforests. This hypothesis was investigated by analyzing stand age structures and patterns of tree radial growth along a west-to-east gradient of post-fire stands dominated by Nothofagus dombeyi and Austrocedrus chilensis.

Post-fire stand development of Austrocedrus-Nothofagus forests in northern Patagonia

Extensive logging and burning in association with the mining booms of the latter half of the 19th century severely disturbed the montane forests of Boulder County in the Colorado Front Range. Repeat photography of 68 historical photographs and age structure analysis of 24 stands were used to investigate patterns of stand development following disturbance. The data set of nearly 1300 tree ages revealed highly variable patterns of development of stands dominated mainly by ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesli), lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), limber pine (Pinus flexilis), and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa). In most cases, forest succession followed an “initial floristics” pattern in which both early and late successional (or climax) species established more or less synchronously. Less commonly, and always on less favorable sites, forest succession followed a “relay floristics” pattern in which the late successional species did not establish until several decades after initi...

Anthropogenic disturbance and recovery patterns in montane forests, colorado front range

Vegetation development was examined on in-transit morainic arcs (i.e., supraglacial debris) and on recessional and lateral moraines at Casa Pangue Glacier in Chile. Data were collected on floristic composition, densities of shrubs and trees, and tree population age structures at sites on glacial deposits covering a range of ages. On arcs of in-transit moraine, formed by the deposition of landslide debris onto the glacier surface, forest stands dominated by Nothofagus dombeyi develop. These stands travel down the glacier surface at an average annual rate of 22.5 m. Such transport of live trees down a glacier could invalidate dating glacial movement on the basis of wood found at the snout of a glacier. Despite considerable instability of the supraglacial debris, these stands are characterized by trees of up to 40 cm in diameter and ca. 70 yr in age. Three tree species and six shrub species are common in these stands which also contain numerous other vascular plants including ferns and lianas. Comparison

Nothofagus stand development on in-transit moraines, casa pangue glacier, chile

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The Colorado Front Range: A Century of Ecological Change

Post-fire stand development of Austrocedrus-Nothofagus forests in northern Patagonia

Anthropogenic disturbance and recovery patterns in montane forests, colorado front range

Nothofagus stand development on in-transit moraines, casa pangue glacier, chile

The Colorado Front Range: A Century of Ecological Change