Persistence of fire-killed conifer snags in California, USA

Grayson, Lindsay M.; Cluck, Daniel R.; Hood, Sharon M.

doi:10.1186/s42408-018-0007-7

Fire Ecology

Table 1 Summary of studies of fire-killed snag dynamics for species included in this study. Species codes are: Abies = undifferentiated species of the Abies genus; IC = incense-cedar; SP = sugar pine; WF = white fir; JP = Jeffrey pine, PP = ponderosa pine, and YP = yellow pine. US state codes are: AZ = Arizona, CA = California, CO = Colorado, ID = Idaho, MT = Montana, OR = Oregon, WA = Washington

From: Persistence of fire-killed conifer snags in California, USA

Study	Downed snag height (m)	Species (sample size)¹	US state	Years snags monitored² (n)	DBH range (cm)	Description	Factors assessed³ and response (0, 1, +, −)⁴
Bagne et al. 2008	NA	IC (~105) PP (~115) SP (~33) WF (~43)	CA	2	20–54+	Snag use and dynamics in northeast CA mixed-conifer forest on plots burned with prescribed fire once (2002), burned twice (1997–1998; 2003), or unburned. Initial survey 2001.	Species (1); DBH (−)
Chambers and Mast 2005	1.8	PP (1678; 52 unburned)	AZ	3 or 7*	11–88	Snag dynamics and spatial patterns of fire-killed snags in north AZ. Initial survey post fire. Paired burned and unburned plots.	BA (+); Broken Top (+); DBH (+); HT (−); Lean (−)
Dahms 1949	NA	PP (212)	OR	10 or 22	20.3–106.7	Burned plot in southeast OR; initial survey post fire.	DBH(+)
Dunn and Bailey 2012	2	Abies (4077); PP (737)	OR	1–24*	<23–41+	Snag dynamics of fire-killed snags in mixed-conifer stands in Eastern Cascades of OR. Decay dynamics supported by chronosequence. Initial survey post fire. Parametrized models.	DBH (+); Species (1); YF (−)
Everett et al. 1999	1.8	PP (not given)	WA	>150*	3–64+	Chronosequence. Snag dynamics over 26 stand-replacing wildfires in the Eastern Cascades, WA. Initial survey post fire.	Broken Top (+); DBH (1); Species (1)
Harrington 1996	NA	PP (123)	CO	10	3.81–38.1	Snag fall rates of prescribed-fire-killed snags in CO.	CVS (−); DBH (+); Season (0)
Grayson et al. 2018 (this study)	3.65	IC (96) SP (189) WF (308) YP (547)	CA	10	23.9–136	Snag longevity of wildfire-killed snags in mixed-conifer stands in northeast CA, mix of salvaged and unlogged. Initial survey post fire. Parameterized models.	Age (−); CI (1); CKR (−); DBH (+); HT (+); Location (0); PGC (1); RTB (1); Sal (+); Species (1); YTD (+)
Morrison and Raphael 1993	1.5	PP (1258) WF (590)	CA	5 or 10	13–102+	Snag dynamics of burned and unburned plots in second-growth forests of the Sierra Nevada, CA. Initial survey post fire. Enhanced dataset from Raphael and Morrison 1987.	Broken Top (+); COD (1); DBH (+); Decay (+); HT (1); Species (1)
Raphael and Morrison 198	1.5	JP (396); WF (387)	CA	8	13–102+	Snag recruitment, decay, and fall rates in mixed-conifer and pine savannas in the Eastern Cascades on burned and unburned plots. Initial survey post fire. Parameterized models.	COD (1); DBH (+); HT (+); Species (1)
Raphael and White 1984	1.5	JP and WF (combined 2111)	CA	18	13–102+	Snag dynamics of burned and unburned plots in second-growth forests of Sierra Nevada, CA. Initial survey post fire.	Broken Top (+); DBH (+); Species (1)
Ritchie et al. 2013; Ritchie and Knapp 2014	1.5	IC (~496); YP (~2015); WF (~589)	CA	8; 10	2–45+	Snag longevity and surface fuel accumulation in relation to post-fire logging in mixed-conifer and PP in the southern Cascades of northeast CA.	DBH (+); Species (1)
Russell et al. 2006	1.37	PP (1131)	ID	8–9	NA	Snag fall on burned plots in west ID, mix of salvaged and unlogged. Initial survey post fire. Parameterized models.	Age (−); Aspect (0); DBH (+); DBH:HT (+); Decay (+); Decay:DBH (−); HT (−); Location (1); Logging (0); Pre-fire Crown Closure (0); Species (1); Snag Density (+)
Smith 1999	3	PP (102)	MT; ID	>399*	38.1–89.7+	Wildfire-killed PP in west MT. Initial survey post fire. Chronosequence 10 years post fire.	DBH (+); Pitch Content (0); Tree Age at Death (+)

¹Species sample size marked with a tilde (~) estimated by given total sample size and percent composition. ²Years snags monitored marked with an asterisk (*) either are chronosequences or are supported by chronosequences. ³Factors assessed: Species = snag species, where IC = incense-cedar, PP = ponderosa pine, SP = sugar pine, WF = white fir, JP = Jeffrey pine, and Abies = unspecified species of the genus Abies; Aspect = aspect of the stand; CI = crown injury; Broken Top = binary of whether the snag had a broken top, Pitch Content = percent of dry weight that is pitch, before extraction; Tree Age at Death = age of the tree at time of mortality; Snag Density = number of snags per hectare; Pre-fire Crown Closure = classified crown closure before fire; DBH = diameter at breast height; HT = snag height; BA = basal area around snag (live and dead); Lean = angle of bole lean; Season = season of tree death; CVS = crown volume scorched; Age = years since death; COD = cause of death; Decay = decay class; YTD = years post fire to tree death; Sal = salvage status of stand; PGC = snag protected by green conifers; CKR = cambium kill rating; RTB = number of red turpentine beetle pitch tubes; YF = years since fire. ⁴Response: All factors assessed in each study are listed. (-) = factor had a significant, negative relationship with snag longevity; (+) = factor had a significant, positive relationship with snag longevity; (1) = factor had a significant relationship with snag longevity, which varied by factor level; (0) = factor had no significant relationship with snag longevity

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