Recovery of lodgepole pine forests following mountain pine beetle attack with and without prescribed burning

Abstract: Three study locations dominated by lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) and attacked by mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) have permanent sample plots that were measured for vegetation and tree regeneration before and for three to six years after prescribed fire. Guiding Hypotheses: Tree regeneration densities and composition, and the trajectory of vegetation development, are expected to stabilize within three to six years after fire. Vegetation recovery, in terms of density or cover (but also possibly composition) at that time is hypothesized to reflect the following drivers:a) post-burn regeneration = f(burn severity, light availability)b) post-burn vegetation = f(pre-burn vegetation composition, burn severity, light availability)Background: This dataset reports on the early vegetation dynamics of lodgepole pine forests disturbed by mountain pine beetle and prescribed fire in western Canada. Each of the three locations represents an experiment on its own, initiated by collaborators with the primary objectives of controlling the spread of mountain pine beetle, studying fire behaviour in beetle-attacked stands, reducing fuel loads to reduce future wildfire risk, or restoring vegetation to a more open configuration. Findings addressing those primary project objectives are not reported here, but some results are included in the following:Perrakis, D. D., Lanoville, R. A., Taylor, S. W., & Hicks, D. (2014). Modeling wildfire spread in mountain pine beetle-affected forest stands, British Columbia, Canada. Fire Ecology, 10, 10-35. https://doi.org/10.4996/fireecology.1002010 Lenne, C. (2012). Effects of fuel reduction treatments by thinning and prescribed fire in Pinus contorta stands in the wildland-urban interface of Jasper National Park, Alberta. Internship report in support of a Master of Forest Science degree at Agroparistech-ENGREF, Nancy, France. 56 p.Although based on a broader interest in plant community recovery and succession following wildfire, the hypothesized dependence on pre-disturbance vegetation meant that simple post-disturbance monitoring would be inadequate. Not knowing when and where wildfires would strike, establishing a random network of permanent sample plots in the hope that some would soon burn was not considered an efficient program design. Rather, collaborations with planned prescribed burns were undertaken so that pre-burn understory vegetation could be characterized before fires occurred. Some of the vegetation data from the Carrot Lake Experimental Burn has been analyzed with an emphasis on differences among the regeneration strategies of different plant species, and published as:Edwards, M., M. Krawchuk, and P.J. Burton. 2015. Short-interval disturbance in lodgepole pine forests, British Columbia, Canada: Understory and overstory response to mountain pine beetle and fire. Forest Ecology and Management, 338, 163-175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.11.011Dataset creator (Dr. Phil Burton) would like to see these permanent sample plot locations resampled again at any time. He is also interested in collaborating on any efforts to use or analyze these data and publish the results. He is happy to answer questions sent by email.