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This event was designed to create dialogue among scientists and managers and to put fire ecology research in the context of real-life limitations and situations that influence decision making and planning. Discussion topics included: Fire history • Fire regime differences across soil, forest, and fuel types • Recovery after fire • Factors influencing different post-fire trajectories • Future fire projections • Possible ecological and management consequences related to future fire predictions • Sensitivity and complacency of fire regimes in response to climate

Subject-matter expert participants included:
Roy Renkin, Acting Chief, Vegetation and Resource Operations, Yellowstone National Park (YNP)
Ann Rodman, Branch Chief, Physical Science, YNP
Todd Opperman, Deputy FMO, YNP
Becky Smith, Fire Ecologist, YNP
Bill Mayer, Fuels Specialist, YNP
Diane Abendroth, Fire Ecologist, Teton Interagency Fire
Tom Olliff, Coordinator, Great Northern Landscape Cooperative
Mary Taber, Fire Ecologist, University of Idaho/Wildland Fire Management RD&A
Julie Shea, Fire / Fuels Planner, Custer Gallatin National Forest
Jon White, Fuels AFMO, Caribou-Targhee National Forest
Travis Belote, Research Ecologist, The Wilderness Society

Yellowstone Field Trip photo

Resources

An abundance of materials (see Related Documents) were referenced and discussed during this field tour, related to:

  • Background and overview of the Yellowstone fires of 1988
  • Paleo-fire and climate of Yellowstone
  • Lodgepole pine serotiny & implications for postfire regeneration
  • Postfire succession and forest stand development
  • Postfire aspen seedling recruitment
  • Fire and bark beetles
  • Future climate and fire predictions
  • Continued learning from the Yellowstone fires of 1988 (and see the news article "What Yellowstone's '88 fires tell us about Glacier")

Related Documents from the Research and Publications Database

Yellowstone fire history and fire ecology - Insights 27 years after the 1988 fires (Field trip summary) Corey L. Gucker

Fuel moisture, forest type, and lightning-caused fire in Yellowstone National Park Roy A. Renkin et al.

Surprises and lessons from the 1988 Yellowstone fires Monica G. Turner et al.

Landscape heterogeneity following large fires: insights from Yellowstone National Park, USA Tania L. Schoennagel et al.

Twenty years after the 1988 Yellowstone fires: lessons about disturbance and ecosystems William H. Romme et al.

Postglacial vegetation and climate of Grand Teton and southern Yellowstone National Parks Cathy L. Whitlock

Holocene vegetation-fire-climate linkages in Northern Yellowstone National Park, USA Mariana A. Huerta et al.

Spatial Variations of Holocene Climatic Change in the Yellowstone Region Cathy L. Whitlock et al.

Complex response of white pines to past environmental variability increases understanding of future vulnerability Virginia Iglesias et al.

Climate and vegetation change during the late-glacial/early Holocene transition inferred from multiple proxy records from Blacktail Pond, Yellowstone National Park, USA Teresa R. Krause et al.

Holocene seasonal variability inferred from multiple proxy records from Crevice Lake, Yellowstone National Park, USA Cathy L. Whitlock et al.

A 750-year fire history based on lake sediment records in central Yellowstone National Park Sarah H. Millspaugh et al.

Linking tree-ring and sediment-charcoal records to reconstruct fire occurrence and area burned in subalpine forests of Yellowstone National Park, USA Philip E. Higuera et al.

Variations in fire frequency and climate over the last 17,000 years in central Yellowstone National Park Sarah H. Millspaugh et al.

Landscape-scale heterogeneity in lodgepole pine serotiny Daniel B. Tinker et al.

The influence of fire interval and serotiny on postfire lodgepole pine density in Yellowstone National Park Tania L. Schoennagel et al.

Spatial heterogeneity of lodgepole pine sapling densities following the 1988 fires in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA Daniel M. Kashian et al.

Effects of fire size and pattern on succession in Yellowstone National Park Monica G. Turner et al.

Landscape patterns of sapling density, leaf area, and aboveground net primary production in postfire lodgepole pine forests, Yellowstone National Park Monica G. Turner et al.

Variability and convergence in stand structural development on a fire-dominated subalpine landscape Daniel M. Kashian et al.

Postfire changes in forest carbon storage over a 300-year chronosequence of Pinus contorta-dominated forests Daniel M. Kashian et al.

Twenty-four years after the Yellowstone Fires: are postfire lodgepole pine stands converging in structure and function? Monica G. Turner et al.

Regeneration of montane forests 24 years after the 1988 Yellowstone fires: A fire-catalyzed shift in lower treelines? Daniel C. Donato et al.

Deterministic and stochastic processes lead to divergence in plant communities 25 years after the 1988 Yellowstone fires William H. Romme et al.

Postfire aspen seedling recruitment across the Yellowstone (USA) landscape Monica G. Turner et al.

Establishment, persistence, and growth of aspen (Populus tremuloides) seedlings in Yellowstone National Park William H. Romme et al.

Shifting ecological filters mediate postfire expansion of seedling aspen (Populus tremuloides) in Yellowstone Winslow D. Hansen et al.

Do high-density patches of coarse wood and regenerating saplings create browsing refugia for aspen (Populus tremuloides) in Yellowstone National Park (USA)? James D. Forester et al.

Forest entomology in Yellowstone National Park, 1923-1957: a time of discovery and learning to let live Malcolm M. Furniss et al.

Recent mountain pine beetle outbreaks, wildfire severity, and postfire tree regeneration in the US northern Rockies Brian J. Harvey et al.

The influence of previous mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) activity on the 1988 Yellowstone fires Heather J. Lynch et al.

Modeling the effects of fire and climate change on carbon and nitrogen storage in lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) stands Erica A. H. Smithwick et al.

Continued warming could transform Greater Yellowstone fire regimes by mid-21st century Anthony L. Westerling et al.

Ecological implications of climate change in Yellowstone: moving into uncharted territory? William H. Romme et al.

Event Details

Oct 1 - 2 2015, All day
Presenter(s): Brian J. Harvey, Dave McWethy, Monica G. Turner, Cathy L. Whitlock
Hot Topic(s):
Aspen Restoration and Management
Climate & Disturbance Interactions
Climate & Fire Projections
Fire & Bark Beetles
Whitebark Pine Restoration and Management
Photo of Reseeded Yellowstone Trees with sign "Naturally Reseeded by Wildfire in 1988"

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