Oregon Coastal Range Fire Regime Study

The purpose of this study was to characterize the fire regime of the central Oregon Coast Range at multiple spatial scales and to compare the fire regime of the more recent (ca. 500 years) history with longer paleo records such as charcoal sediment deposits in lakes. Primary data was collected from ages of trees at cutting in clearcuts (sites). Fire scars on stumps were dated to determine dates of fires. Tree-ring counts of stumps were analyzed to determine age class information related to fire episodes. Sampling was carried out to determine the fire regime at three spatial scales: climate (zone); aspect and hillslope position. The proportion of sites for each aspect and within each zone reflected the proportion of the study area in each aspect and zone, respectively. At each site equal sampling occurred for each hillslope position (U, M, L). Additional descriptions of the sampling design can be found in Chapter 2 of the dissertation "Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Fire in the Central Oregon Coast Range" (n:\impara\windows\worp\diss\draftch2.wpd)