Restoring fire in lodgepole pine forests of the Intermountain west

Abstract

We are developing new management treatments for regenerating and sustaining lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests through emulation of natural disturbance processes. Lodgepole pine is the principal forest cover on over 26 million hectares in western North America. While infrequent, stand replacing fires following mountain pine beetle outbreaks are common to the inland form (var. latifolia), more frequent nonlethal and mixed severity fires also significantly affected stand development and landscape patterns. This diversity of fire regimes resulted in spatially complex forests with a mosaic of one- and multi-aged stands. Our demonstration treatments are being tested on the Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest (TCEF) in central Montana, where other companion studies as well as extensive water quality and quantity studies are being performed. Our challenge is to design economical silvicultural and prescribed fire treatments which maintain spatial and biological diversity.

Citation

Hardy, Colin C.; McCaughey, Ward W. 1997. Restoring fire in lodgepole pine forests of the Intermountain west. In: Changing ecosystems: Natural and human influences; 1997 Annual Meeting; August 10-14, 1997; Albuquerque, NM. Supplement to Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 78(4): 15.