Journal article
Effects of post-fire logging on forest surface air temperatures in the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon, USA
Forestry, Vol.83(5), pp.477-482
2010
Abstract
Following stand-replacing wildfire, post-fire (salvage) logging of fire-killed trees is a widely implemented management practice in many forest types. A common hypothesis is that removal of fire-killed trees increases surface temperatures due to loss of shade and increased solar radiation, thereby influencing vegetation establishment and possibly stand development. Six years after a wildfire in a Mediterranean-climate mixed-conifer forest in southwest Oregon, USA, we measured the effects of post-fire logging (> 90 per cent dead tree (snag) removal) on growing season surface air temperatures. Compared with unlogged severely burned forest, post-fire logging did not lead to increased maximum daily surface air temperature. However, dead tree removal was associated with lower nightly minimum temperatures (similar to 1 degrees C) and earlier daytime heating, leading to a 1-2 degrees C difference during the warming portion of the day. Effects varied predictably by aspect. The patterns reported here represent a similar but muted pattern as previously reported for microclimatic changes following clear-cutting of green trees. Effects of microsites such as tree bases on fine-scale temperature regimes require further investigation.
Details
- Title
- Effects of post-fire logging on forest surface air temperatures in the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon, USA
- Authors/Creators
- J.B. Fontaine (Author/Creator)D.C. Donato (Author/Creator)J.L. Campbell (Author/Creator)J.G. Martin (Author/Creator)B.E. Law (Author/Creator)
- Publication Details
- Forestry, Vol.83(5), pp.477-482
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Identifiers
- 991005541199207891
- Copyright
- Institute of Chartered Foresters, 2010
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Environmental Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
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- Citation topics
- 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
- 3.40 Forestry
- 3.40.55 Forest Dynamics
- Web Of Science research areas
- Forestry
- ESI research areas
- Plant & Animal Science