Ecological effects of prescribed burning and mechanical cutting for restoration of Pinus albicaulis 15-years after treatmen
Abstract/Artist Statement
The field of ecological restoration is growing rapidly, increasing the need for reliable and generalizable information on the impacts of management interventions aimed to be restorative. For many types of restoration treatments, such as prescribed burning and mechanical cutting for restoration of threatened trees there is limited information on their efficacy and effects. We used data from a 15-year, replicated before-after-control-impact (BACI) study on Pinus albicaulis restoration, a high-conservation value species, to assess the ecological effects of prescribed burning and mechanical cutting, as well as to assess the precision of estimation of the monitoring design. Although there was high (77-100%) tree mortality across all study units, basal area removed during treatment was significantly negatively related to mortality. We also found that treatments had a significant effect on change in basal area for Picea engelmannii and Pinus contorta, although the magnitude and direction varied by treatment. Pinus albicaulis seedling density decreased across all treatments, and response to treatment was statistically significant. Although the Restoring Whitebark Pine Ecosystems study utilized widely accepted sampling protocols, variable estimates had high rates of error: margin of error was 34% for basal area, 47% for , mortality and 71% for seedling density). Our findings reveal that the restoration treatments did not affect P. albicaulis and were not consistently effective at reducing pressure from competing conifers 15-years after treatment. This highlights the need for large-scale long-term monitoring networks and innovative sampling designs to improve understanding of the efficacy and effects of restoration treatments in P. albicaulis and other degraded forest ecosystems.
Ecological effects of prescribed burning and mechanical cutting for restoration of Pinus albicaulis 15-years after treatmen
UC 327
The field of ecological restoration is growing rapidly, increasing the need for reliable and generalizable information on the impacts of management interventions aimed to be restorative. For many types of restoration treatments, such as prescribed burning and mechanical cutting for restoration of threatened trees there is limited information on their efficacy and effects. We used data from a 15-year, replicated before-after-control-impact (BACI) study on Pinus albicaulis restoration, a high-conservation value species, to assess the ecological effects of prescribed burning and mechanical cutting, as well as to assess the precision of estimation of the monitoring design. Although there was high (77-100%) tree mortality across all study units, basal area removed during treatment was significantly negatively related to mortality. We also found that treatments had a significant effect on change in basal area for Picea engelmannii and Pinus contorta, although the magnitude and direction varied by treatment. Pinus albicaulis seedling density decreased across all treatments, and response to treatment was statistically significant. Although the Restoring Whitebark Pine Ecosystems study utilized widely accepted sampling protocols, variable estimates had high rates of error: margin of error was 34% for basal area, 47% for , mortality and 71% for seedling density). Our findings reveal that the restoration treatments did not affect P. albicaulis and were not consistently effective at reducing pressure from competing conifers 15-years after treatment. This highlights the need for large-scale long-term monitoring networks and innovative sampling designs to improve understanding of the efficacy and effects of restoration treatments in P. albicaulis and other degraded forest ecosystems.