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Project ID: 06-3-1-35

Year: 2006

Date Started: 08/31/2006

Date Completed: 12/20/2010

Title: A Comparison of Presettlement Vegetation and Fire Regimes with Current Patterns in Oak Woodlands and Shrublands of SW Oregon

Project Proposal Abstract: Fuel reduction efforts on BLM lands are motivated by the need to reduce fire hazard and restore and rehabilitate ecosystems. Successful ecosystem restoration depends, in part, on understanding the target: what ecosystem model is considered natural and healthy for a given area? Oak woodlands and shrublands are two of the most characteristic ecosystems in interior valleys of southwest Oregon, and extensive acreages within these systems are treated annually for fuel reduction. However, these are also two of the least understood ecosystems in the region. We know little about their presettlement attributes, responses to disturbance, or successional relationships. We propose a study that will provide insight into historical patterns of vegetation in interior valleys of southwest OR, dating back to the time of initial settlement by Europeans. We will analyze changes in vegetation between the pre-fire suppression era and the present, examining in particular the direction and magnitude of change in vegetation that is considered to be fire dependent, particularly oak woodlands and shrublands. Results will advance our understanding of the relationships of plant communities to fire, and will also allow us to assess the degree to which current fuel reduction prescriptions reflect past burn regimes. Several sources of historical information on vegetation and fire will be used, including: (1) General Land Office (GLO) surveys, usually from - 1870-1890; (2) GLO survey plat maps; (3) Homestead Patent Application maps (- 1905-1915); and (4) Donation Land Claim surveys (mid-1800's). Standardized methods of interpreting these sources exist and will be used in the proposed work. Resultant maps of presettlement vegetation will be digitized allowing comparison with GIS layers of current information on vegetation, soils, and other site attributes. Proportions of the landscape falling in various vegetation types will be compared quantitatively between the past and the present. We will also analyze BLM fire maps in relationship to current vegetation patterns, and analysis of age and size structures for oaks and shrubs will provide further insights into fire regimes over the past century. Enhanced understanding of past and current fire regimes is consistent with the goals of JFSP AFP 2006-3, Task 1, which focuses on fire regimes. Our research will focus on two ecosystems that the JFSP Board has expressed particular interest in under this Task: deciduous forests (here as oak woodlands) and shrublands. Results will enhance the ability of land managers to focus on fuel reduction prescriptions that can be justified both on the basis of hazard reduction and ecosystem restoration and to communicate their rationale to the concerned public. In addition, the digitized and computerized data on historical and current fire and vegetation will provide valuable baseline information against which future changes in vegetation or disturbance regime can be assessed.

Principal Investigator: Patricia S. Muir

Agency/Organization: Oregon State University

Branch or Dept: Department of Botany & Plant Pathology

Other Project Collaborators

Type	Name	Agency/Organization	Branch or Dept
Co-Principal Investigator	Paul Hosten	NPS-National Park Service	Kalaupapa National Historical Park
Federal Cooperator	Douglas Kendig	BLM-Bureau of Land Management	Medford District Office

Project Locations

Consortium

California

Northwest

Level	State	Agency	Unit
STATE	OR	BLM	Medford District

Project Deliverables

Final Report ("Results presented in JFSP Final Reports may not have been peer-reviewed and should be interpreted as tentative until published in a peer-reviewed source.")

	ID	Type	Title
	8164	Refereed Publication	Does Fuels Management Accomplish Restoration in Southwest Oregon, USA, Chaparral? Insights from Age Structure
	8761	Refereed Publication	A Comparison of the Short-Term Effects of Two Fuel Treatments on Chaparral Communities in Southwest Oregon
	8769	Refereed Publication	Prescribed Fire and Post-Fire Seeding in Brush Masticated Oak-Chaparral: Consequences for Native and Non-Native Plants
	8764	NonRefereed Publication	To Thin or Not to Thin: Assessing the Consequences of Fuel Reduction Treatments for the Non-Coniferous Ecosystems of Southwestern Oregon
	8766	MS Thesis	Vegetation Response to Seasonality of Prescribed Fire and Postfire Seeding Following Mechanical Fuel-Reduction Treatments in Oak-Chaparral (C.T. Coulter)
	8758	MS Thesis	Stand Structure of Oregon White Oak(Quercus garryana) Woodlands and Their Relationships to Environment in Southwestern Oregon (L.A. Gilligan)
	8037	MS Thesis	Chaparral History, Dynamics, and Response to Disturbance in Southwest Oregon: Insights from Age Structure (O.C. Duren)
	9039	Conference/Symposia/Workshop	Like No Other: Southwest Oregon Chaparral and the Challenge of Conservation
	9074	Photo	Looking northwards towards Ashland (southwest Oregon), photo 1 taken in July of 1915 shows short statured Oregon white oak in the foreground, oak dominated slopes in the left middle ground, and patchy oak woodlands interspersed with grassy meadows in the mid-right background (photo by John Gribble). The photo retake (July 2004) shows larger statured oaks in the foreground, conversion to conifer in the left middle ground, with the woodland in the background remaining relatively unchanged (photo
	9075	Photo	Looking northwards towards Ashland (southwest Oregon), photo 1 taken in July of 1915 shows short statured Oregon white oak in the foreground, oak dominated slopes in the left middle ground, and patchy oak woodlands interspersed with grassy meadows in the mid-right background (photo by John Gribble).
	9073	Photo	Typical high density chaparral stand, SW Oregon (photo credit O. Duren)
	9072	Photo	Sanded stem cross section of Arctostaphylos viscida (photo credit O. Duren)
	9071	Photo	Photo of Quercus garryana woodland, SW Oregon (photo credit O. Duren)
	9070	Photo	Photo of large, old Arctostaphylos viscida, SW Oregon (photo credit D. Coen)

Supporting Documents

The following supporting documents are available for this project.

First Look

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