Snow Pack in Fire Regimes

Amanda Charobee Winter Ecology Spring 2012

Introduction

Until recently the United States has been fighting wild fires with a suppression policy.

In an effort to control the loss of property and life the bureau of land management focuses the use of thinning and prescribed fire projects hoping to limit the fuel supplies to their historical ranges. (McKenzie et al. 2004)

Introduction Continued• Fires remain a threat as they are primarily driven by

weather conditions, not fuel.

• Global warming/Climate change has the potential to significantly increase the fire regimes in dry areas like the Rockies.

• With each new burn more carbon is released into the air, and respiration decreases leading to temperature increases.

• Scientists are predicting a lengthening of the fire season in the western US due to this (Heyerdahl et al. 2008).

A Winter PerspectiveThough many scientists study snow and its structure few have published much beyond its effects on the ecosystem.

The snow is an integral part of the environment• It offers protection to prey from predators (David J.

Huggard 1993)• forms an insulated sanctuary for plants and animals• keeps the soil moist as plants give off radiation, which

melts the snow. (Sturm 1992)

A burned landscape has more sun and wind exposer then a healthy forest, it could produces abnormal snow pack where both flora and fauna suffer.

The QuestionDo forest fires and prescribed burning affect the structure of the snowpack?

Hypothesis:A burned landscape, can act as an ecological health indicator and show us the full extent of damage to the niche.

MethodsPits were sampled in two different locations as examples of a healthy and burned environment:• Healthy--- Mountain Research Station:9,600 feet • Burned--- Gold Hill/ Four mile canyon at 9,200 

Within each setting two pits were dug at random:• One in the trees• One in a clearing

Methods Continued• Temperature gradient was formed with ten centimeter

intervals.

• Layers were tested for • hardness, density, and • flake structure.

Healthy LandscapeForest

Clearing

7067

46.5

37.2

25.7

Har

dnes

s

Har

dnes

s

4642.5

106

19.5

00

II-A2

II-B1

II-B2

III_A1

III-A3

III-A3

III-B1

II-B1

II-A2

III-A3

III-B2

III-A2

Burned LandscapeForest

Clearing4845

24

16

6

0

Dep

th (c

m)

39

26

70

Har

dnes

s

Har

dnes

s

II-B1

II-B2

ICE

III-A3

III-A3

II-B1

II-A2

ICE

Forest Areas__

Burned4845

6

0

Dep

th (c

m)

Har

dnes

s24

16

Healthy

Har

dnes

s

II-B1

II-B2

ICE

III-A3

III-A3

II-A2

II-B1

II-B2

III_A1

III-A3

III-A3

III-B1

Clearings

Burned

26

7

0

Har

dnes

s

39

Healthy

Har

dnes

s

4642.5

10

6

19.5

0

II-B1

II-A2

ICE

II-B1

II-A2

III-A3

III-B2

III-A2

Summary of ResultsA Healthy Forest Snow cover:• Deep• variety of layers • contains old snow depth hoar present

Burned Area’s Snow Cover:• large layers of ice • Snow is dense• No new snow on top layer

Same for both:• Temperature gradient

Discussion•  What factors are responsible for the types of layers

present in?

• How do the layers affect one another?

• How will the layer distribution affect the movement of animals?

• What is happening to the terrain?

• What happens to the lifespan of snow cover, and how does that affect the climate?

In Conclusion

• Fires have an observable effect on Snow layers.

• This changes how the ecosystem is used by local organisms.

• Prescribed burning may be degredating the overall health of the mountain ecosystem.

Citations----• Climatic Change, Wildfire, and ConservationDonald McKenzie, Ze'ev Gedalof, David L. Peterson and Philip Mote Conservation Biology , Vol. 18, No. 4 (Aug., 2004), pp. 890-902 Published by: Blackwell Publishing for Society for Conservation Biology Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3589163

• Effect of Snow Depth on Predation and Scavenging by Gray WolvesDavid J. Huggard The Journal of Wildlife Management , Vol. 57, No. 2 (Apr., 1993), pp. 382-388 Published by: Allen Press Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3809437

• Multi-Season Climate Synchronized Historical Fires in Dry Forests (1650-1900), Northern Rockies, USAEmily K. Heyerdahl, Penelope Morgan and James P. Riser II Ecology , Vol. 89, No. 3 (Mar., 2008), pp. 705-716 Published by: Ecological Society of America Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27651593

• Needle Ice Striped GroundJ. Ross Mackay and W. H. Mathews Arctic and Alpine Research , Vol. 6, No. 1 (Winter, 1974), pp. 79-84 Published by: INSTAAR, University of Colorado Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1550372

• Snow Distribution and Heat Flow in the TaigaMatthew Sturm Arctic and Alpine Research , Vol. 24, No. 2 (May, 1992), pp. 145-152 Published by: INSTAAR, University of Colorado Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1551534

• The Interaction of Fire, Fuels, and Climate across Rocky Mountain ForestsTANIA SCHOENNAGEL, THOMAS T. VEBLEN and WILLIAM H. ROMME BioScience , Vol. 54, No. 7 (July 2004), pp. 661-676 Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences Article DOI: 10.1641/0006-3568(2004)054[0661:TIOFFA]2.0.CO;2Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1641/0006-3568%282004%29054%5B0661%3ATIOFFA%5D2.0.CO%3B2