PARENT SESSION
Organized Oral Session 37: Post-fire conversion of forest to non-forest: Do we need new theory?
Organizer(s): RG Balice, B Romme, and TW Swetnam
Wednesday, August 10, 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM, Meeting Room 511 C, Level 5, Palais des congrès de Montréal

Is a new paradigm of post-fire succession warranted?

Swetnam, Thomas¹, Balice, Randy², Romme, William³, ¹ University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ² Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM³ Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO

ABSTRACT- Post-fire succession of forest to non-forest vegetation has occurred in a variety of ecosystem types during the past 100 years. Several ecosystems in North America, such as pinyon-juniper woodlands, ponderosa pine forests, and some mixed-conifer forests provide examples where high severity fire events have resulted in conversions to shrublands or grasslands that may persist for very long periods of time. On the other hand, high severity fires clearly do not result in persistent type conversions in some ecosystems (e.g., grasslands or some spruce-fir forests). Many different ecological and physical processes and interactions play roles in determining the outcomes of post-fire succession. Climatic variability (and climate change?), past human land uses and their effects on forest structures, prior and subsequent disturbances, and invasive species, are some of the more important factors that will be discussed in this organized oral session, and summarized in this concluding talk.

Key words: succession, fire, disturbance, type-conversion