Bringing Fire Back: The Changing Regimes of the Appalachian Mixed-Oak Forests
Authors: Brose P.1; Schuler T.2; van Lear D.3; Berst J.4
Source: Journal of Forestry, Volume 99, Number 11, 1 November 2001 , pp. 30-35(6)
Publisher: Society of American Foresters
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Abstract:
Since vegetative associations stabilized about 4,000 years ago, the Appalachian mixed-oak forests have experienced three profoundly different fire regimes. Periodic, low-intensity surface fires lit by American Indians characterized the first regime, and this regime helped perpetuate oak as one of the dominant species groups. The Industrial Revolution led to high-intensity, stand-replacing fires, causing extensive damage to the forests. Modern fire protection created a “no-fire” regime that permitted the forests to recover but allowed mesophytic species to begin replacing the oaks. Today, research is under way to identify how to reintroduce fire to solve this oak replacement problem.Keywords: oak regeneration; pre-European settlement; wildfire; environmental management; forest; forest management; forest resources; forestry; forestry research; forestry science; natural resources; natural resource management
Document Type: Miscellaneous
Affiliations: 1: research silviculturist USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, Irvine, PA, 16329, pbrose@fs.fed.us 2: research forester USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, Parsons, West Virginia 3: professor Department of Forest Resources, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 4: director of forest fire protection Bureau of Forestry, Penn-sylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Harrisburg
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