Choose a search method


Climate + Fire

Fire + Ecosystem Effects

Search

Climate

Fire

Ecosystem Effects
Full Citation: Fule, P. Z., J. E. Crouse, T. A. Heinlein, M. M. Moore, W. W. Covington, and G. Verkamp. 2003. Mixed-severity fire regime in a high-elevation forest of Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA. Landscape Ecology, v. 18, no. 5, p. 465-485.
External Identifier(s): 10.1023/A:1026012118011 Digital Object Identifier
Location: Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, U.S.
Ecosystem types: Mixed-conifer forest; Spruce-fir forest
Southwest FireCLIME Keywords: None
FRAMES Keywords: Abies concolor, Abies lasiocarpa, age classes, Arizona, catastrophic fires, coniferous forests, dendrochronology, droughts, elevation, European settlement, fire exclusion, fire frequency, fire hazard reduction, fire injuries (plants), fire intensity, fire management, fire regimes, fire scar analysis, fire size, fire suppression, forest management, hardwoods, ignition, landscape ecology, national parks, overstory, Picea engelmannii, Picea pungens, Pinus ponderosa, population density, Populus tremuloides, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Quercus gambelii, remote sensing, Robinia, sampling, size classes, stand characteristics, statistical analysis, surface fires, wildfires

View the FRAMES record

Mixed-severity fire regime in a high-elevation forest of Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

Peter Z. Fulé, Joseph E. Crouse, Thomas A. Heinlein, Margaret M. Moore, W. Wallace Covington, G. Verkamp
Summary - what did the authors do and why?

The authors reconstructed the spatial and temporal patterns of the fire regime on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park to assess how fire transitioned from surface to stand-replacing fire across aspect, elevation, and forest type.
Publication findings:

The authors found that currently the forest on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park is dominated by dense stands of spruce-fir, mixed-conifer, and aspen. Historically, conditions would have been very open prior to fire exclusion. Fire-initiated tree groups were common at the project site, approximately 60% and likely originated after severe fires in the 1780s. They also found synchrony between fires during dry years as measured by the Palmer Drought Stress Index, with severe drought common in regional fire years.

Climate and Fire Linkages

How does drought relate to fire frequency, rotation, or return interval?

The authors found synchrony between fires during dry years as measured by the Palmer Drought Stress Index, with severe drought common in regional fire years.

Fire and Ecosystem Effects Linkages

How does fire severity relate to species composition, non-natives, and structure?

The authors found that currently the forest on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park is dominated by dense stands of spruce-fir, mixed-conifer, and aspen. Historically, conditions would have been very open prior to fire exclusion. Fire-initiated tree groups were common at the project site, approximately 60% and likely originated after severe fires in the 1780s.

How do fire frequency, rotation, and return interval relate to species composition, non-natives, and structure?

The authors found that currently the forest on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park is dominated by dense stands of spruce-fir, mixed-conifer, and aspen. Historically, conditions would have been very open prior to fire exclusion.