Proximity to grasslands influences fire frequency and sensitivity to climate variability in ponderosa pine forests of the Colorado Front Range
Abstract
This study examines the influence of grasslands on fire frequency and occurrence in the ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)-dominated forests of the central and northern Colorado Front Range. Fire frequency based on tree-ring fire-scar data was compared between 34 fire history sites adjacent to grasslands and 34 fire history sites not adjacent to grasslands for the time period 1675–1920. Relationships were examined between fire occurrence and values of the Palmer Drought Severity Index and sea-surface temperatures from the NINO3 region of the tropical Pacific Ocean (positive values indicating El Niño-like conditions and negative values La Niña-like conditions). Ponderosa pine stands adjacent to grasslands experienced more frequent fire than stands not adjacent to grasslands (P < 0.05) owing to proximity to prevalent fine fuels able to support relatively frequent surface fires. Fire activity adjacent to grasslands showed a lagged positive relationship with moist years (positive Palmer Drought Severity Index and positive NINO3) antecedent to fire events whereas fire occurrence at sites not adjacent to grasslands showed no relationship to antecedent moist years. This study illustrates how the presence of grasslands in a ponderosa pine landscape results in increased fire frequency (a bottom–up influence) and also increases the sensitivity of fire activity to interannual climate variability (a top–down influence).
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Some of this variability is due to differences in species composition, vegetation structure and climate within a region.
“Some of this variability is due to differences in species composition, vegetation structure and climate within a region (Gartner, Veblen, Sherriff, & Schoennagel, 2012;Heyerdahl, Brubaker, & Agee, 2001;Taylor & Skinner, 2003).”
From Fire as a fundamental ecological process: Research advances and frontiers (2020) · cites this paper as Gartner, Veblen, Sherriff, & Schoennagel, 2012
Cites
(1983) · UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona) · Cited by 4,873 · see citing works
The second-order analysis of stationary point processes
Ripley, B. D. (1976) · Journal of Applied Probability · doi:10.2307/3212829 · Cited by 1,983 · see citing works
Méndez, V., Fedotov, S. P., & Horsthemke, W. (2010) · Springer series in synergetics · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-11443-4_7 · Cited by 1,270 · see citing works
Climate and wildfire area burned in western U.S. ecoprovinces, 1916-2003.
Littell, J., McKenzie, D., Peterson, D., & Westerling, A. (2009) · Ecological Applications · doi:10.1890/07-1183.1 · Cited by 1,120 · see citing works
Global Pyrogeography: the Current and Future Distribution of Wildfire
Krawchuk, M. A., Moritz, M. A., Parisien, M.-A., Van Dorn, J., & Hayhoe, K. (2009) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005102 · Cited by 1,000 · see citing works
The interaction of fire, fuels, and climate across Rocky Mountain forests
SCHOENNAGEL, T., VEBLEN, T. T., & ROMME, W. H. (2004) · BioScience · doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2004)054[0661:tioffa]2.0.co;2 · Cited by 776 · see citing works
Self-citationFire-Southern Oscillation Relations in the Southwestern United States
Swetnam, T. W., & Betancourt, J. L. (1990) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.249.4972.1017 · Cited by 672 · see citing works
Constraints on global fire activity vary across a resource gradient
Krawchuk, M. A., & Moritz, M. A. (2011) · Ecology · doi:10.1890/09-1843.1 · Cited by 472 · see citing works
CLIMATIC AND HUMAN INFLUENCES ON FIRE REGIMES IN PONDEROSA PINE FORESTS IN THE COLORADO FRONT RANGE
Veblen, T. T., Kitzberger, T., & Donnegan, J. A. (2000) · Ecological Applications · doi:10.1890/1051-0761(2000)010[1178:cahiof]2.0.co;2 · Cited by 434 · see citing works
Self-citationForest vegetation of the Colorado Front Range
Peet, R. K. (1981) · Vegetatio · doi:10.1007/bf00240202 · Cited by 414 · see citing works
Global characterization of fire activity: toward defining fire regimes from Earth observation data
CHUVIECO, E., GIGLIO, L., & JUSTICE, C. (2008) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01585.x · Cited by 371 · see citing works
Kitzberger, T., Brown, P. M., Heyerdahl, E. K., Swetnam, T. W., & Veblen, T. T. (2006) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0606078104 · Cited by 348 · see citing works
Self-citationDrought induces lagged tree mortality in a subalpine forest in the Rocky Mountains
Bigler, C., Gavin, D. G., Gunning, C., & Veblen, T. T. (2007) · Oikos · doi:10.1111/j.2007.0030-1299.16034.x · Cited by 346 · see citing works
Self-citationClimate controls on the variability of fires in the tropics and subtropics
van der Werf, G. R., Randerson, J. T., Giglio, L., Gobron, N., & Dolman, A. J. (2008) · Global Biogeochemical Cycles · doi:10.1029/2007gb003122 · Cited by 324 · see citing works
Brown, P. M., & Wu, R. (2005) · Ecology · doi:10.1890/05-0034 · Cited by 319 · see citing works
FIRE HISTORY IN NORTHERN PATAGONIA: THE ROLES OF HUMANS AND CLIMATIC VARIATION
Veblen, T. T., Kitzberger, T., Villalba, R., & Donnegan, J. A. (1999) · Ecological Monographs · doi:10.1890/0012-9615(1999)069[0047:fhinpt]2.0.co;2 · Cited by 296 · see citing works
Self-citationPostsettlement Changes in Natural Fire Regimes and Forest Structure
Covington, W. W., & Moore, M. M. (1994) · Journal of Sustainable Forestry · doi:10.1300/j091v02n01_07 · Cited by 296 · see citing works
WEAK CLIMATIC CONTROL OF STAND-SCALE FIRE HISTORY DURING THE LATE HOLOCENE
Gavin, D. G., Hu, F. S., Lertzman, K. P., & Corbett, P. (2006) · Ecology · doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[1722:wccosf]2.0.co;2 · Cited by 284 · see citing works
Century scale climate forcing of fire regimes in the American Southwest
Grissino‐Mayer, H. D., & Swetnam, T. W. (2000) · The Holocene · doi:10.1191/095968300668451235 · Cited by 276 · see citing works
Early 19th‐Century Fire Decline Following Sheep Pasturing in a Navajo Ponderosa Pine Forest
Savage, M., & Swetnam, T. W. (1990) · Ecology · doi:10.2307/1938649 · Cited by 265 · see citing works
Ecosystems of the east slope of the Front Range in Colorado
Marr, J. W. (1961) · CU Scholar (University of Colorado Boulder) · Cited by 251 · see citing works
Dendrochronology of a Fire-Scarred Ponderosa Pine
Dieterich, J. H., & Swetnam, T. W. (1984) · Forest Science · doi:10.1093/forestscience/30.1.238 · Cited by 218 · see citing works
Kitzberger, T., Veblen, T. T., & Villalba, R. (1997) · Journal of Biogeography · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.1997.tb00048.x · Cited by 213 · see citing works
Self-citationENSO AND PDO VARIABILITY AFFECT DROUGHT-INDUCED FIRE OCCURRENCE IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN SUBALPINE FORESTS
Schoennagel, T. L., Veblen, T. T., Romme, W. H., Sibold, J. S., & Cook, E. R. (2005) · Ecological Applications · doi:10.1890/04-1579 · Cited by 181 · see citing works
Self-citationInter‐hemispheric synchrony of forest fires and the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation
Kitzberger, T., Swetnam, T. W., & Veblen, T. T. (2001) · Global Ecology and Biogeography · doi:10.1046/j.1466-822x.2001.00234.x · Cited by 181 · see citing works
Self-citationANALYSIS OF TREE RINGS AND FIRE SCARS TO ESTABLISH FIRE HISTORY
McBride, J. R. (1983) · UA Campus Repository (The University of Arizona) · Cited by 171 · see citing works
Mast, J. N., Veblen, T. T., & Hodgson, M. E. (1997) · Forest Ecology and Management · doi:10.1016/s0378-1127(96)03954-0 · Cited by 149 · see citing works
Self-citationCLIMATIC AND HUMAN INFLUENCES ON FIRE REGIMES OF THE SOUTHERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS, COLORADO, USA
Grissino‐Mayer, H. D., Romme, W. H., Floyd, M. L., & Hanna, D. D. (2004) · Ecology · doi:10.1890/02-0425 · Cited by 144 · see citing works
Sibold, J. S., & Veblen, T. T. (2006) · Journal of Biogeography · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2006.01456.x · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Self-citationInteractions between fire, grazing and climate change at Wind Cave National Park, SD
Bachelet, D., Lenihan, J. M., Daly, C., & Neilson, R. P. (2000) · Ecological Modelling · doi:10.1016/s0304-3800(00)00343-4 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Large Grassland Fires in the Intermountain West, U.S.A.
Knapp, P. (1998) · Global Ecology and Biogeography · doi:10.1046/j.1466-822x.1998.00298.x · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Sherriff, R. L., & Veblen, T. T. (2007) · Ecosystems · doi:10.1007/s10021-007-9022-2 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Self-citationSchoennagel, T. L., Veblen, T. T., Kulakowski, D., & Holz, A. (2007) · Ecology · doi:10.1890/06-1860.1 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Self-citationGrau, H. R., & Veblen, T. T. (2000) · Journal of Biogeography · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2699.2000.00488.x · Cited by 89 · see citing works
Self-citationDouglas-Fir Encroachment into Mountain Grasslands in Southwestern Montana
Arno, S. F., & Gruell, G. E. (1986) · Journal of Range Management · doi:10.2307/3899067 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
DeWilde, L., & Chapin, F. S. (2006) · Ecosystems · doi:10.1007/s10021-006-0095-0 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
Climatic and human influences on fire history in Pike National Forest, central Colorado
Donnegan, J. A., Veblen, T. T., & Sibold, J. S. (2001) · Canadian Journal of Forest Research · doi:10.1139/x01-093 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Self-citationLong lead statistical forecasts of area burned in western U.S. wildfires by ecosystem province
Westerling, A. L., Gershunov, A., Cayan, D. R., & Barnett, T. P. (2002) · International Journal of Wildland Fire · doi:10.1071/wf02009 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Sherriff, R. L., & Veblen, T. T. (2006) · Journal of Vegetation Science · doi:10.1658/1100-9233(2006)17[705:eeocif]2.0.co;2 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Self-citationNorman, S. P., & Taylor, A. H. (2003) · Journal of Biogeography · doi:10.1046/j.1365-2699.2003.00889.x · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Climate effects on historical fires (1630–1900) in Utah
Brown, P. M., Heyerdahl, E. K., Kitchen, S. G., & Weber, M. H. (2008) · International Journal of Wildland Fire · doi:10.1071/wf07023 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Heyerdahl, E. K., Miller, R. F., & Parsons, R. A. (2006) · Forest Ecology and Management · doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2006.04.024 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
Fire–rainfall relationships in Argentine Chaco savannas
Bravo, S., Kunst, C., Grau, R., & Aráoz, E. (2010) · Journal of Arid Environments · doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2010.04.010 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
Fire Regimes on Andesitic Mountain Terrain in Northeastern Yellowstone-National-Park, Wyoming
Barrett, S. (1994) · International Journal of Wildland Fire · doi:10.1071/wf9940065 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Hély, C., Alleaume, S., Swap, R. J., Shugart, H. H., & Justice, C. O. (2003) · Journal of Arid Environments · doi:10.1006/jare.2002.1097 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Scars as an Indicator of Fire Frequency in the San Bernardino Mountains, California
McBride, J. R., & Laven, R. D. (1976) · Journal of Forestry · doi:10.1093/jof/74.7.439 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Harris, S. L., TAPPER, N. J., Packham, D. R., Orlove, B., & Nicholls, N. (2008) · International Journal of Wildland Fire · doi:10.1071/wf06160 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Local-scale controls of a low-severity fire regime (1750–1950), southern British Columbia, Canada
Heyerdahl, E. K., Lertzman, K. P., & KARPUK, S. (2007) · Ecoscience · doi:10.2980/1195-6860(2007)14[40:lcoalf]2.0.co;2 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Landscape-level dynamics of grassland-forest transitions in British Columbia
Bai, Y., Broersma, K., Thompson, D. J., & ROSS, T. J. (2004) · Rangeland Ecology & Management · doi:10.2111/1551-5028(2004)057[0066:ldogti]2.0.co;2 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Variability in fire–climate relationships in ponderosa pine forests in the Colorado Front Range
Sherriff, R. L., & Veblen, T. T. (2008) · International Journal of Wildland Fire · doi:10.1071/wf07029 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Self-citationForest Stand Dynamics and Livestock Grazing in Historical Context
Borman, M. M. (2005) · Conservation Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00115.x · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Kaufmann, M. R., Veblen, T. T., & Romme, W. H. (2006) · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Self-citationLandscape-Level Dynamics of Grassland-Forest Transitions in British Columbia
Bai, Y., Broersma, K., Thompson, D. J., & Ross, T. J. (2004) · Journal of Range Management · doi:10.2307/4003956 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Keith, R. P., Veblen, T. T., Schoennagel, T. L., & Sherriff, R. L. (2010) · Journal of Vegetation Science · doi:10.1111/j.1654-1103.2009.01156.x · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Self-citationShifting Forests: Historical Grazing and Forest Invasion in Southwestern Montana
Hansen, K., Wyckoff, W., & Banfield, J. (1995) · Forest and Conservation History · doi:10.2307/3983662 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Latif, M. (1999) · doi:10.1175/1520-0442(1999)012
Flagged first, then by citations
3 of the 60 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Fire as a fundamental ecological process: Research advances and frontiers
McLauchlan, K. K., Higuera, P. E., Miesel, J., Rogers, B. M., Schweitzer, J., Shuman, J. K., Tepley, A. J., Varner, J. M., Veblen, T. T., Adalsteinsson, S. A., et al. (2020) · Journal of Ecology · doi:10.1111/1365-2745.13403 · Cited by 729 · see citing works
“Some of this variability is due to differences in species composition, vegetation structure and climate within a region (Gartner, Veblen, Sherriff, & Schoennagel, 2012; Heyerdahl, Brubaker, & Agee, 2001; Taylor & Skinner, 2003 (Jolly et al., 2015).”
Self-citationHagmann, R. K., Hessburg, P. F., Prichard, S. J., Povak, N. A., Brown, P. M., Fulé, P. Z., Keane, R. E., Knapp, E. E., Lydersen, J. M., Metlen, K. L., et al. (2021) · Ecological Applications · doi:10.1002/eap.2431 · Cited by 400 · see citing works
Wildfire‐mediated vegetation change in boreal forests of Alberta, Canada
Stralberg, D., Wang, X., Parisien, M., Robinne, F., Sólymos, P., Mahon, C. L., Nielsen, S. E., & Bayne, E. M. (2018) · Ecosphere · doi:10.1002/ecs2.2156 · Cited by 171 · see citing works
Holz, A., Kitzberger, T., Paritsis, J., & Veblen, T. T. (2012) · Ecosphere · doi:10.1890/es12-00234.1 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Self-citationHistorical, Observed, and Modeled Wildfire Severity in Montane Forests of the Colorado Front Range
Sherriff, R. L., Platt, R. V., Veblen, T. T., Schoennagel, T. L., & Gartner, M. H. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0106971 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Self-citationWilliams, C. J., Pierson, F. B., Robichaud, P. R., & Boll, J. (2014) · International Journal of Wildland Fire · doi:10.1071/wf12161 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Tepley, A. J., & Veblen, T. T. (2015) · Ecological Monographs · doi:10.1890/14-1496.1 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Self-citationRodman, K. C., Veblen, T. T., Saraceni, S., & Chapman, T. B. (2019) · Ecosphere · doi:10.1002/ecs2.2594 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Self-citationNot just about the trees: Key role of mosaic-meadows in restoration of ponderosa pine ecosystems
Matonis, M., & Binkley, D. (2018) · Forest Ecology and Management · doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2018.01.019 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Margolis, E. Q., & Malevich, S. B. (2016) · Forest Ecology and Management · doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2016.05.011 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Mixed‐severity fire history at a forest–grassland ecotone in west central British Columbia, Canada
Harvey, J. E., Smith, D. J., & Veblen, T. T. (2017) · Ecological Applications · doi:10.1002/eap.1563 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Self-citationRodman, K. C., Meador, A. J. S., Moore, M. M., & Huffman, D. W. (2017) · Forest Ecology and Management · doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2017.09.012 · Cited by 29 · see citing works
Briefing: Climate and Wildfire in Western U.S. Forests
Westerling, A. L., Brown, T., Schoennagel, T. L., Swetnam, T. W., Turner, M. G., & Veblen, T. T. (2014) · eScholarship (California Digital Library) · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Self-citationDaniels, L. D., Kent, L. L. Y., Sherriff, R. L., & Heyerdahl, E. K. (2017) · Ecological studies · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-61669-8_8 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Self-citationMcKinney, S. T. (2019) · Fire Ecology · doi:10.1186/s42408-019-0056-6 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Climatic influences on fire regimes in ponderosa pine forests of the Zuni Mountains, NM, USA
Rother, M. T., & Grissino‐Mayer, H. D. (2014) · Forest Ecology and Management · doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2014.02.034 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Chapman, T. B., Schoennagel, T. L., Veblen, T. T., & Rodman, K. C. (2020) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0226926 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Self-citationVolpato, M., de Andrade, C. F., Silva, E. L., Barbosa, M. L. F., de Andrade, M. D., da Rocha, P. V., Delgado, R. C., Teodoro, P. E., da Silva, C. A., & Pereira, M. G. (2022) · Environment Development and Sustainability · doi:10.1007/s10668-022-02573-3 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Thompson, D. K., & Morrison, K. (2020) · Natural hazards and earth system sciences · doi:10.5194/nhess-20-3439-2020 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Interannual climate variability drives regional fires in west central British Columbia, Canada
Harvey, J. E., & Smith, D. J. (2017) · Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences · doi:10.1002/2016jg003661 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Harvey, J. E., Axelson, J., & Smith, D. J. (2018) · Ecosphere · doi:10.1002/ecs2.2126 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Gartner, M. H., Veblen, T. T., Leyk, S., & Wessman, C. A. (2015) · International Journal of Remote Sensing · doi:10.1080/01431161.2015.1095369 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Self-citationSharma, S., & Mujumdar, P. P. (2024) · Environmental Research Letters · doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ad53e7 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Fire in Semi-Arid Shrublands and Woodlands: Spatial and Temporal Patterns in an Australian Landscape
van Etten, E. J. B., Davis, R. A., & Doherty, T. S. (2021) · Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution · doi:10.3389/fevo.2021.653870 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Using Complementary Drought Proxies Improves Interpretations of Fire Histories in Montane Forests
Chavardès, R. D., Daniels, L. D., Eskelson, B. N. I., & Gedalof, Z. (2020) · Tree-Ring Research · doi:10.3959/trr2019-10a · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Pawlik, Ł., Buma, B. J., Wistuba, M., Malik, I., & Ślęzak, A. (2022) · Land Degradation and Development · doi:10.1002/ldr.4575 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Temporal and spatial patterns of fire regime disruption in conifer forests of western North America
Sáenz-Ceja, J. E., & Mendoza, M. E. (2024) · Physical Geography · doi:10.1080/02723646.2024.2331292 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Katsos, S. (2013) · CU Scholar (University of Colorado Boulder)
Religiöse Gemeinden als komplexe adaptive Systeme: Modellbildung in der Religionswissenschaft
Lange, B. (2012) · INFM-OAR (INFN Catania) · doi:10.5281/zenodo.30884
Schiltmeyer, A. V. (2018) · Lincoln (University of Nebraska)
- Authors
- Gartner, M. H., Veblen, T. T., Sherriff, R. L., & Schoennagel, T. L.
- Affiliations
- University of Colorado Boulder (US)
- Cal Poly Humboldt (US)
- Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (US)
- Corresponding author
- Gartner, Meredith H.
- Venue
- International Journal of Wildland Fire
- Publisher
- CSIRO Publishing
- Published
- 2012-04-26
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 562-571
- ISSN
- 1049-8001 (ISSN-L)
- 1448-5516
- OpenAlex
- W2096275775
- Cited by
- 30
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2024: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 2.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Wildland Fire (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Fire effects on ecosystems
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Tree-ring climate responses
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Forest Management and Policy
- Keywords
- ponderosa pine forests, fire frequency, fire history, Palmer Drought Severity Index, ENSO, climate variability, Colorado Front Range, fine fuels, surface fire
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
