Fire and Ecosystem Effects Interactions
How do annual area burned and fire size relate to tree dispersal, regeneration, and establishement?
Fire history of pinyon-juniper woodlands at upper ecotones with ponderosa pine forests in Arizona and New Mexico
The authors found that fires within the ponderosa pine stands did not spread to the adjacent pinyon-juniper woodland. Historically, fire in pinyon-juniper was typically severe and stand-replacing, but limited in size with fire return intervals of 300 to 400 years. This has resulted in numerous small patches of same-aged pinyon stands.
Citation:
Huffman, David W.; Fulé, Peter Z.; Pearson, Kristen M.; Crouse, Joseph E. 2008. Fire history of pinyon-juniper woodlands at upper ecotones with ponderosa pine forests in Arizona and New Mexico. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 38(8):2097-2108.