Resource objective wildfire leveraged to restore old growth forest structure while stabilizing carbon stocks in the southwestern United States

Amsterdam

2024

15 S.

Bandaufführung

40004561

Wildfire futures and aboveground carbon (C) dynamics associated with forest restoration programs that integrate
resource objective wildfire as part of a larger treatment strategy are not well understood. Using simulation
modeling, we examined alternative forest and fuel management strategies on a 237,218-ha study area within a
778,000-ha landscape that is a high priority target for federal restoration programs. We simulated two wildfire
management scenarios combined with three levels of conventional forest restoration treatments over 64 years
using a detailed landscape disturbance and succession model developed in prior work. We found accelerated
forest restoration used in concert with resource objective wildfire was the most effective at returning old growth
forest structure, while stabilizing aboveground C stocks and restoring the fire return interval to its historic range
of variation. In scenarios without forest restoration, the continued practice of resource objective wildfires during
shoulder fire seasons reduced summer emissions in a negative feedback loop. In the short term, scenarios without
forest restoration increased live tree C, but also increased the likelihood of C loss during wildfire activity driven
by extreme fire weather. We found scenarios most effective at restoring fire-excluded pine forests to their historical
old growth conditions came at a short-term cost of lost C, but with the long-term benefit of substantially
increasing fire-resistant live tree C. Our results inform how local decision making can best balance competing
goals of sequestering C, and stabilizing C stocks in frequent-fire pine forests using the principles of local fire
ecology to restore and maintain old growth forest structure.
Keywords: Aboveground carbon; Carbon carrying capacity; Forest management; Forest landscape model; Old growth forest; Resource objective wildfire