OOS 26 - Fire and Old-growth Forest Ecosystems

Organizer(s)

• MK

  Meg Krawchuk

  Oregon State University, Oregon, United States

Co-Organizer(s)

• GM

  Garrett Meigs

  Washington State Department of Natural Resources, United States

Old-growth forests and wildland fire have complicated relationships that vary with geography and through time. The goal of this session is to showcase innovative and original research on the relationship between older forests and fire to examine the diverse ways they interact, and to advance deep discussion of the positive and negative relationships that exist. Fire is one of the most prevalent forest disturbances worldwide, and has shaped the evolution of many species. Recent discoveries about the role of fire in old-growth forests shed light on diverse disturbance dynamics in these seemingly unchanging ecosystems. By comparing and contrasting different locations, time periods, and ecological methods, we see how fire can tend old-growth ecosystems in some situations and erode them in others. Quantifying and understanding the important role that fire plays in disturbance-succession and habitat relationships in forests that become old growth is critical to their conservation, and to adaptation in the context of global change. Recent initiatives, including the U.S. based Executive Order 14072 “Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities, and Local Economies” focus on threats and opportunities for mature and old-growth forests in the context of climate-smart forestry. These, and other initiatives globally, require that we advance our understanding of the fire ecology of ancient forests. Please join us for this session, and follow-up discussions on the ecology of fire and older-growth trees and forest ecosystems. Our session includes new work from California, Oregon, British Columbia, and from Australia, providing diverse biogeographic perspectives from academic, government, and NGO backgrounds. This session is of interest for all ecologists, including scientists, educators, manager-practitioners, and the general public, bringing a shared care for older forests and concern for how we can support their coexistence with wildland fire.

Presentations:

• 1:30 PM – 1:45 PM PDT

  Fire, northern spotted owls, and old forests in the Pacific Northwest
  

  Presenting Author: Jeremy T. Rockweit – Oregon State University

  Co-author: Katie M. Dugger – US Geological Survey, Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University

  Co-author: Damon B. Lesmeister – USDA Forest Service, Oregon State University

  Co-author: Ray J. Davis – USDA US Forest Service

  Co-author: Alan B. Franklin – US Department of Agriculture, APHIS, WS, National Wildlife Research Center

  Co-author: J Mark Higley – Hoopa Tribal forestry
• 1:45 PM – 2:00 PM PDT

  Old forests and landscape fire: Quantifying fire effects across a gradient of late-successional forests in the eastern Cascade Range, WA
  

  Presenting Author: Garrett W. Meigs – Washington State Department of Natural Resources

  Coauthor: Caden Chamberlain – University of Washington

  Coauthor: C. Alina Cansler – University of Montana

  Coauthor: Derek J. Churchill, PhD – Washington Department of Natural Resources

  Coauthor: Daniel C. Donato – Washington State Department of Natural Resources

  Coauthor: Joshua S. Halofsky, PhD – Washington State Department of Natural Resources

  Coauthor: Jonathan Kane – University of Washington

  Coauthor: Van Kane – University of Washington

  Coauthor: Susan J. Prichard – University of Washington

  Coauthor: Annie Smith – Washington State Department of Natural Resources
• 2:00 PM – 2:15 PM PDT

  Fire tended forests: Fire history and stand development of old-growth Douglas-fir forests in Oregon and Washington
  

  Presenting Author: Andrew Merschel – USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station

  Co-Author: James D. Johnston – Oregon State University

  Co-Author: Matthew J. Reilly – USDA Forest Service
• 2:15 PM – 2:30 PM PDT

  Assessing the impact of current and future fire regimes on old growth forest in south-eastern Australia
  

  Presenting Author: Luke Collins, PhD – Canadian Forest Service

  Co-author: Sarah McColl-Gausden – University of Melbourne

  Co-author: Tom Fairman – School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne
• 2:30 PM – 2:45 PM PDT

  Analyzing and predicting fire refugia throughout British Columbia, Canada
  

  Presenting Author: Christine Kuntzemann – Northern Forestry Centre

  Co-author: Diana Stralberg – Northern Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service

  Co-author: Ellen Whitman – Natural Resources Canada

  Co-author: Marc-Andre Parisien – Natural Resources Canada

  Co-author: Dan K. Thompson – Natural Resources Canada

  Co-author: Doug Lewis – BC Public Service

  Co-author: Scott Nielsen – University of Alberta
• 2:45 PM – 3:00 PM PDT

  Giant sequoia wildfire mortality and recovery: A long-lived and highly fire-resistant species faces new threats in the 21st century
  

  Presenting Author: Amarina Wuenschel – USDA US Forest Service

  Co-author: Kristen Shive – UC Berkeley

  Co-author: Alexis Bernal – UC Berkeley

  Co-author: Linnea Hardlund – UC Berkeley

  Co-author: Marc Meyer – USDA Forest Service

  Co-author: Sharon M. Hood, PhD – USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station

  Co-author: Sonia Morris – Save the redwoods league

  Co-author: Rachel Pekelney – UC Berkeley