Fire history of Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest, Lewis and Clark National Forest

Abstract

Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. var. latifolia) forests in the northern Rocky Mountains have experienced substantial variation in presettlement fire patterns (Arno 1976, Sneck 1977, Arno 1980, Romme 1982, Romme and Despain 1989, Barrett and Arno 1991, Barrett et a1. 1991, Barrett [in prep]). On relatively productive habitat types at lower elevations, short- to moderately long interval (25-150 yr) fires have occurred in a mixed severity pattern ranging from non-lethal underburns to total stand replacement (Arno 1976, Barrett and Arno 1991, Barrett et. al. 1991). Markedly different fire patterns occurred in high elevation lodgepole pine forests on unproductive sites, such as in Yellowstone National Park. On Yellowstone's infertile subalpine plateau, Romme (1982) and Romme and Despain (1989) found that stand replacing fires recurred after very long intervals (300-400 yr), and that non-lethal surface fires were rare. Barrett (in prep) found a similar fire pattern but substantially shorter intervals on more fertile sites adjacent to the subalpine plateau, in the Absaroka Mountains. Average intervals for stand replacing fires in that area were about 200 years, and Barrett (in prep) concluded that the natural fire pattern was similar to that found in steep mountain terrain in northwestern Montana (Sneck 1977, Barrett et al. 1991).

Citation

Barrett, Stephen W. 1993. Fire history of Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest, Lewis and Clark National Forest. Final Report INT-92679-RJVA. Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. 23 p.