Fire effects on tree physiology, growth, and drought vulnerability: Non-structural carbohydrate, hydraulic function, water potential, and tree growth data

The mechanistic links between fire-caused injuries and post-fire tree function are poorly understood. Current hypotheses differentiate effects of fire on tree carbon balance and hydraulic function, yet critical uncertainties remain about the relative importance of each, how they interact, and whether these physiological impacts have consequences for post-fire growth and drought vulnerability. We utilized two prescribed burn sites and paired unburned control sites with Pseudotsuga menziesii and Pinus ponderosa to examine i) the relative evidence for fire-caused changes in hydraulic function (vulnerability to cavitation, hydraulic conductance) and carbon dynamics (non-structural carbohydrates; NSC), and how such impacts relate to fire injuries, ii) which impacts most likely lead to post-fire mortality, and iii) how these impacts affect post-fire radial growth and drought vulnerability (water potential, total water deficit). We found that fire-caused impacts to NSC were immediate, persiste..., , # Fire effects on tree physiology, growth, and drought vulnerability: Non-structural carbohydrate, hydraulic function, water potential, and tree growth data

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.qv9s4mws1](10.5061/dryad.qv9s4mws1)

## Description of the data and file structure

These files include data associated with the manuscripts \"Fire directly affects tree carbon balance and indirectly affects hydraulic function: consequences for post-fire mortality in two conifers\" (Reed et al., in press), and \"Fire-caused injuries may result in a period of reduced tree growth and elevated drought vulnerability after fire: A case study of two western U.S. conifers\" (Reed et al., in prep). Data cover two prescribed burned sites (fall-burn, spring-burn) and paired unburned control sites in western Montana, USA and a total of 160 focal trees (80 ponderosa pine, 80 Douglas-fir). Data (tree attributes, non-structural carbohydrates, hydraulic function, water potential) were collected both pre-burn and at various...,