Title: Fire and landscapes: patterns and processes
Author: Van Wagtendonk, Jan W.
Date: 2004
Source: In: Murphy, Dennis D. and Stine, Peter A., editors. Proceedings of the Sierra Nevada Science Symposium. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-193. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture: 69-78
Station ID: GTR-PSW-193
Description: Fire has been a pervasive influence on the Sierra Nevadan landscape for millennia. Lake sediments containing charcoal and pollen indicate that fires have occurred for at least the past 13,000 years. Brunelle and Anderson (2003) found that charcoal accumulation varied with vegetation and temperature, increasing during warm periods dominated by oaks (Quercus spp.) and sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and decreasing during cool periods dominated by subalpine species, such as mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana). They concluded that the lake sediment record was consistent with other long-term records of climate and vegetation in the Sierra Nevada and with records of fire and climate for the past 1,000 years as determined from tree-ring studies (Graumlich 1993). Although it is not possible to determine whether the frequency of lightning strikes varied during the period
covered by the sediment record, the number of ignition sources was obviously sufficient to produce fires across the landscape.
Keywords:
View and Print this Publication (840 KB)
Publication Notes:
- We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
- This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.
- You may send email to pubrequest@fs.f
ed.us to request a hard copy of this publication. (Please specify exactly
which publication you are requesting and your mailing address.)
Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility
Citation
Van Wagtendonk, Jan W. 2004. Fire and landscapes: patterns and processes. In: Murphy, Dennis D. and Stine, Peter A., editors. Proceedings of the Sierra Nevada Science Symposium. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-193. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture: 69-78.