Cooperating Agencies:

• Coconino National Forest


• Rocky Mountain Research Station

Location:

The southern slopes of the San Francisco Peaks, approximately 7 miles (12 km) north of Flagstaff, Arizona, in the Peaks Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest.

Date Initiated:

2000

Project Description:

A large-scale project was initiated on the south side of the San Francisco Peaks to study ecosystem attributes on a landscape scale across the extinct volcano that forms the charismatic backdrop to the City of Flagstaff. More than 130 permanent monitoring plots were established across the mountain slopes, from ponderosa pine forest at the base, up through mixed conifer and aspen forests, to the spruce-fir and, finally, bristlecone forests at tree line near the crest of the Peaks. Measurements on the plots provide detailed information on the structure, composition, and age distribution of the sampled forest types as well as forest floor fuels and the herbaceous community. Collection of fire scars from throughout the area, together with stand composition and age data, have allowed for reconstruction of past fire regimes in these different forest types.

Associated Projects:

Several interrelated research projects have taken advantage of data from the permanent plots. Joe Crouse used remote sensing data (ASTER multispectral satellite imagery) to develop and refine forest cover and fuels maps based on comparison with actual variables measured in the field. Allison Cocke applied computer models and data from the monitoring plots to evaluate forest successional stages and potential fire behavior across the landscape, as well as testing our ability to measure fire severity from satellite imagery. Marta Fisher characterized plant communities along an elevational gradient up the Peaks, and examined the influence of arbuscular mycorrhizae on several important grass species. Finally, Rita Dodge studied the effects of the Leroux Fire (2001) on the spread of a common weed species, dalmatian toadflax (Linaria dalmatica), and how seeding with native species might help rehabilitate burned areas.

Project Status:

Field sampling and data analysis are complete for the project as originally proposed. The establishment of permanent plots, however, may provide future opportunities to re-measure ecosystem attributes to see how the forests change over time, or after a particularly strong disturbance. This has already proved useful once, in the case of the Leroux Fire mentioned above, which burned through several monitoring plots installed during the previous year’s field work. This allowed us to assess the effects of the fire by re-measuring these burned-over plots and gain valuable insight into fire effects on southwestern forests.

For More Information:

• Contact Joe Crouse, at

Publications:

Peer-reviewed:

• Fisher, M.A., and P.Z. Fulé. 2004. Changes in forest vegetation and arbuscular mycorrhizae along a steep elevation gradient in Arizona. Forest Ecology and Management 200:293-311.
• Cocke, A.E, P.Z. Fulé, and J.E. Crouse. 2005. Forest change on a steep mountain gradient after extended fire exclusion: San Francisco Peaks, Arizona, USA. Journal of Applied Ecology. 42:814-823.
• Cocke, A.E, P.Z. Fulé, and J.E. Crouse. 2005. Comparison of burn severity assessments using differenced normalized burn ratio (ΔNBR) and ground data. International Journal of Wildland Fire 14:189-198
• Heinlein, T.A., M.M. Moore, P.Z. Fulé, and W.W. Covington. 2005. Fire history and stand structure of two ponderosa pine-mixed conifer sites: San Francisco Peaks, Arizona, USA. International Journal of Wildland Fire 14:307-320.

Not Peer-reviewed:

• Fulé, P.Z., M. Fisher, A.E. Cocke, J.E. Crouse, M.M. Moore, and W.W. Covington. 2004. Fire in the urban/wildland interface: a landscape modeling approach. Final report, Research Joint Venture Agreement No. RMRS-99158-RJVA. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Flagstaff, AZ.

Theses:

• Cocke, A.E. (2004). Fire exclusion and burn severity on the San Francisco Peaks, Arizona. Master's Thesis, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona.
• Crouse, J.E. (2005). Fuels and fire behavior modeling using remotely sensed data on the San Francisco Peaks, Arizona. Master's Thesis, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona. 100 p.
• Dodge, R.S. (2004). Dalmation toadflax (Linaria damatica) response to wildfire and native species regeneration in ponderosa pine forest. Master's Thesis, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona.
• Fisher, M.A. (2004). Plant and plant-mycorrhizal interactions across an elevation gradient on the San Francisco Peaks. Master's Thesis, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona.