Predictive accuracy of post-fire conifer death declines over time in models based on crown and bole injury.

A key uncertainty of empirical models of post-fire tree mortality is understanding the drivers of elevated post-fire mortality several years following fire, known as delayed mortality. Delayed mortality can represent a substantial fraction of mortality, particularly for large trees that are a conservation focus in western US coniferous forests. Current post-fire tree mortality models have undergone limited evaluation of how injury level and time since fire interact to influence model accuracy and predictor variable importance.

Understanding flammability and bark thickness in the genus Pinus using a phylogenetic approach.

Pinus species dominate fire-prone ecosystems throughout the northern hemisphere. Their litter drive fires that control plant community flammability and multiple ecological processes. To better understand the patterns and mechanisms of pine flammability, we measured leaf characteristics (needle length and thickness) and conducted combustion experiments on litter from 31 species.

Tree crown injury from wildland fires: causes, measurement and ecological and physiological consequences.

The dead foliage of scorched crowns is one of the most conspicuous signatures of wildland fires. Globally, crown scorch from fires in savannas, woodlands and forests causes tree stress and death across diverse taxa. The term crown scorch, however, is inconsistently and ambiguously defined in the literature, causing confusion and conflicting interpretation of results.

Allometry of the pyrophytic Aristida in fire-maintained longleaf pine-wiregrass ecosystems.

Premise Of The Study: Aboveground biomass (AGB) of herbaceous vegetation is a primary source of fuel in frequent surface fires that maintain grasslands, savannas, and woodlands. Methods for nondestructively estimating AGB are required to understand the mechanisms by which fuels affect fire behavior and the effects of time since the last burn. We developed allometric equations to estimate AGB in wiregrass (Aristida beyrichiana/A.