Reproduction of a Serotinous Conifer, the Giant Sequoia, in a Large High-Severity Fire Area
Giant sequoia groves, located on the western slope of the central and southern Sierra Nevada mountains in California, USA, have been experiencing regeneration failure for more than a century due to the exclusion of wildfires. Giant sequoias are serotinous conifers and have evolved a strong relations...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Fire |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/7/2/44 |
| _version_ | 1797298300720775168 |
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| author | Chad T. Hanson Tonja Y. Chi Maya Khosla Bryant C. Baker Craig Swolgaard |
| author_facet | Chad T. Hanson Tonja Y. Chi Maya Khosla Bryant C. Baker Craig Swolgaard |
| author_sort | Chad T. Hanson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Giant sequoia groves, located on the western slope of the central and southern Sierra Nevada mountains in California, USA, have been experiencing regeneration failure for more than a century due to the exclusion of wildfires. Giant sequoias are serotinous conifers and have evolved a strong relationship between high-severity fire and reproduction. While this relationship is widely recognized, only one previous peer-reviewed study has directly investigated giant sequoia reproduction and fire severity, and that study used different fires for each severity class. We conducted a study of giant sequoia reproduction and fire severity in a single fire, the KNP Complex fire of 2021, within the Redwood Mountain Grove in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. We found that giant sequoia seedlings are more dominant relative to other conifer species and are growing faster in a large high-severity fire area than in adjacent low/moderate-severity areas. Distance to the nearest live sequoia seed source was not a significant factor in sequoia seedling density. Our results call into question the basis for widespread plans and projects designed to prevent high-severity fires and should reevaluate moving forward with proposed tree planting activities in high-severity fire areas within giant sequoia groves. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:33:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c4a599a445ae43938281191d8aa2117c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-6255 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:33:56Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fire |
| spelling | doaj.art-c4a599a445ae43938281191d8aa2117c2024-02-23T15:16:02ZengMDPI AGFire2571-62552024-01-01724410.3390/fire7020044Reproduction of a Serotinous Conifer, the Giant Sequoia, in a Large High-Severity Fire AreaChad T. Hanson0Tonja Y. Chi1Maya Khosla2Bryant C. Baker3Craig Swolgaard4John Muir Project, A Project of Earth Island Institute, 2150 Allston Way, Suite #460, Berkeley, CA 94704, USAIndependent Researcher, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150, USAIndependent Researcher, Rohnert Park, CA 94928, USAWildland Mapping Institute, Ventura, CA 93006, USAIndependent Researcher, Georgetown, CA 95634, USAGiant sequoia groves, located on the western slope of the central and southern Sierra Nevada mountains in California, USA, have been experiencing regeneration failure for more than a century due to the exclusion of wildfires. Giant sequoias are serotinous conifers and have evolved a strong relationship between high-severity fire and reproduction. While this relationship is widely recognized, only one previous peer-reviewed study has directly investigated giant sequoia reproduction and fire severity, and that study used different fires for each severity class. We conducted a study of giant sequoia reproduction and fire severity in a single fire, the KNP Complex fire of 2021, within the Redwood Mountain Grove in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. We found that giant sequoia seedlings are more dominant relative to other conifer species and are growing faster in a large high-severity fire area than in adjacent low/moderate-severity areas. Distance to the nearest live sequoia seed source was not a significant factor in sequoia seedling density. Our results call into question the basis for widespread plans and projects designed to prevent high-severity fires and should reevaluate moving forward with proposed tree planting activities in high-severity fire areas within giant sequoia groves.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/7/2/44giant sequoiawildfirehigh severityserotinous |
| spellingShingle | Chad T. Hanson Tonja Y. Chi Maya Khosla Bryant C. Baker Craig Swolgaard Reproduction of a Serotinous Conifer, the Giant Sequoia, in a Large High-Severity Fire Area Fire giant sequoia wildfire high severity serotinous |
| title | Reproduction of a Serotinous Conifer, the Giant Sequoia, in a Large High-Severity Fire Area |
| title_full | Reproduction of a Serotinous Conifer, the Giant Sequoia, in a Large High-Severity Fire Area |
| title_fullStr | Reproduction of a Serotinous Conifer, the Giant Sequoia, in a Large High-Severity Fire Area |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reproduction of a Serotinous Conifer, the Giant Sequoia, in a Large High-Severity Fire Area |
| title_short | Reproduction of a Serotinous Conifer, the Giant Sequoia, in a Large High-Severity Fire Area |
| title_sort | reproduction of a serotinous conifer the giant sequoia in a large high severity fire area |
| topic | giant sequoia wildfire high severity serotinous |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/7/2/44 |
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