Fire ecology of pacific northwest forests

513 Pages·1996·146.478 MB·English

by  Agee, James K

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FIRE ECOLOGY
OF PACIFIC
NORTHWEST
FORESTS

FIRE ECOLOGY
OF PACIFIC
NORTHWEST
FORESTS
James Agee
J(.
WASHINGTON, D.C. 0 COVELO, CALIFORNIA
Copyright © 1993 by James K. Agee
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
means without permission in writing from the publisher: Island Press, Suite 300,
1718 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009.
ISLAND PRESS is a trademark of The Center for Resource Economics.
The author is grateful for permission to include the following previously
copyrighted materials in redrafted form, except where noted: Figures
4. 5 and 11.11 are from Forest Ecology and Management, Elsevier Science Publishers
BV. Figure 5.5 is courtesy of Yale University. Figures 4.19, 7. 7, and 10.12 are
from Ecology, and Figure 11.4 is from Ecological Monographs, published by the
Ecological Society of America. Figures 10.5 and 10.11 are from Northwest Science,
published by Washington State University Press. Figure 11.2 is from the Journal
of Forestry, published by the Society of American Foresters. Figure 11.5 is original
artwork from Scientific American, published by Scientific American, Inc. Figure
12.11 is from the Journal of Range Management, published by the Society for
Range Management.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Agee. James K.
Fire ecology of Pacific Northwest forests I James K. Agee.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 1-55963-230-5
l. Forest management-Northwest, Pacific. 2. Fire ecology-Northwest,
Pacific. 3. Forest fires-Environmental aspects-Northwest Pacific. I. Title.
SD144.Al3A55 1993
574.5'264-dc20 93-2071
CIP
Printed on recycled, acid-free paper.
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8
This book is dedicated to my parents,
Carroll and Lee Agee,
who supported a young boy's dream to learn about forests,
and to
Professor Harold BiswelL
pioneer fire ecologist, who helped the dream come true.

CONTENTS
PREFACE xi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii
1. THE NATURAL FIRE REGIME 3
2. THE NATURAL FIRE ENVIRONMENT 25
3. THE CULTURAL FIRE ENVIRONMENT 53
4. METHODS FOR FIRE HISTORY 75
5. FIRE EFFECTS ON VEGETATION 113
6. ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF FIRE 151
7. SITKA SPRUCE, CoAST REDWOOD, AND WESTERN
HEMLOCK FORESTS 187
8. PACIFIC SILVER FIR AND RED FIR FORESTS 226
9. SuBALPINE EcosYSTEMS 250
10. MIXED-CONIFER/MixED-EVERGREEN FORESTS 280
11. PONDEROSA PINE AND LODGEPOLE PINE FORESTS 320
12. NORTHWEST WOODLANDS 351
13. FIRE IN OuR FuTURE 386
APPENDIX A. COMMON CONVERSION FACTORS 409
APPENDIX B. NAMES OF PLANTS MENTIONED IN TEXT 411
GLOSSARY 417
REFERENCES 421
477
INDEX
ix