Influence of time since fire on pinyon-juniper woodland structure
The authors studied the effects of time since fire on the structural development of regeneration and complexity in pinyon-juniper woodlands along a long-term chronosequence of ~370 years.
The authors found that the density of PJ woodlands did increase as the length of time since fire increased. However, seedling densities were highly variable across the study sites and did not have a significant relationship with time since fire. The authors suggest this may be because the length of time required to return to pre-fire conditions for PJ woodlands likely requires several decades between disturbances to recover. Specifically, the authors observed that juniper species density was positively related to time since fire while pinyon species were not, suggesting that juniper is more likely to establish post-fire as it is typically more drought tolerant. Site structural complexity also increased with time since fire indicating developmental trajectories toward woodland conditions.
Fire and Ecosystem Effects Linkages
The authors found that the density of PJ woodlands did increase as the length of time since fire increased. However, seedling densities were highly variable across the study sites and did not have a significant relationship with time since fire. The authors suggest this may be because the length of time required to return to pre-fire conditions for PJ woodlands likely requires several decades between disturbances to recover. Specifically, the authors observed that juniper species density was positively related to time since fire while pinyon species were not, suggesting that juniper is more likely to establish post-fire as it is typically more drought tolerant. Site structural complexity also increased with time since fire indicating developmental trajectories toward woodland conditions.
The authors found that the density of PJ woodlands did increase as the length of time since fire increased. However, seedling densities were highly variable across the study sites and did not have a significant relationship with time since fire. The authors suggest this may be because the length of time required to return to pre-fire conditions for PJ woodlands likely requires several decades between disturbances to recover. Specifically, the authors observed that juniper species density was positively related to time since fire while pinyon species were not, suggesting that juniper is more likely to establish post-fire as it is typically more drought tolerant. Site structural complexity also increased with time since fire indicating developmental trajectories toward woodland conditions.