DOI: 10.25921/nxkg-bz91
title: NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology - Heyerdahl fire data from Ray Mesa - IMPD USRAY001

description: Our objective is to provide site-specific fire and forest histories from Utah and eastern Nevada that can be used for land management or additional research. We systematically sampled fire scars and tree-recruitment dates across broad gradients in elevation and forest type at 13 sites in Utah and 1 in eastern Nevada to characterize spatial and temporal variation in historical fire regimes as well as forest structure and composition. We collected similar data non-systematically at five additional sites in Utah. These 19 sites include a broad range of forest types (from pinyon-juniper woodlands to spruce-fir forests) and fire regime types. In this report, we summarize local-scale spatial and temporal variation with site-specific details of historical fire regimes and forests that will be useful for local natural resource and fire management of the individual sites. For each site, we report topography, chronologies of fire and tree recruitment, and properties derived from those chronologies such as time-averaged fire regime parameters (mean fire interval and fire severity) and changes in forest composition and structure that have occurred since the late 1800s
description: This site was sampled as part of a broader study to characterize spatial and temporal variation in historical fire regimes as well as forest structure and composition in Utah and eastern Nevada by sampling fire scars and tree demography across broad gradients in elevation and forest type.  We systematically sampled  14 sites (13 in Utah (ABM, BCL, BMC, BOM, BRO, EPH, HNR, MUR, PSG, RBC, UFR, WCH, and WUN) and 1 in eastern Nevada (WAH)). In addition, we collected similar data non-systematically at six sites in Utah (INC, MON, OWP, RAY, and TVP). These 19 sites include a broad range of forest types (from pinyon-juniper woodlands to spruce-fir forests) and fire regime types. We intended to sample a grid of plots in this area but did not find a suitable location. Instead, we sampled four plots in a manner similar to that used for the gridded sites to provide information for a project that was being conducted by the Bureau of Land Management.  We also used data from all these sites in a study of the climate drivers of regional fire years (Brown et al. 2008).


Sample Storage Location: Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research
2901 Moore Lane, Ft. Collins, CO 80526 USA
Peter M. Brown (pmb@rmtrr.org, 970-229-9557)

Dating Method: crossdated
Related ITRDB_Chronology: Not Applicable

Fire scar data from this site are available in FHX2 format at:
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/firehistory/firescar/northamerica/usray001.fhx
along with associated metadata, including links to supplemental information and Fire History Graphs, at:
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/firehistory/firescar/northamerica/usray001_noaa.txt

Establishment date data from this site are available in CSV format at:
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/firehistory/establishment/northamerica/usray001.dat
along with associated metadata, including links to supplemental information at:
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/paleo/firehistory/establishment/northamerica/usray001_estab_noaa.txt

Establishment Date Data Comments: First and last ring dates on trees at least 20 cm in diameter.  Also includes estimates of pith dates, distance and azimuth from plot center, and tree status.

Extended Supplemental File information (where applicable):
usray001-RAY_fire-scarred_trees.csv: Contains information on fire-scarred trees that were sampled within and outside of plots, including species, tree status, and location.
usray001-RAY_plot.csv: Contains date the plot was sampled, plot location, size, elevation, aspect, slope, topographic position, slope shape, forest type in 1860, forest type in 2000, LANDFIRE biophysical setting in 1860, LANDFIRE existing vegetation type in 2000, number of charred undatable trees, and number of uncharred undatable trees.

Fire History Graphs: Fire History Graphs illustrate specific years when fires occurred and how many trees were scarred. They are available in both PDF and PNG formats. The graphs consist of 2 parts, both of which show the X axis (time line) at the bottom with the earliest year of information on the left and the latest on the right. The Fire Index Plot is the topmost plot, and shows two variables: sample depth (the number of recording trees in each year) as a blue line along the left Y axis, compared with the percent trees scarred shown as gray bars along the right Y axis. Below, the Fire Chronology Plot consists of horizontal lines representing injuries by year on individual sampled trees. Symbols are overlain that denote the years containing the dendrochronologically-dated fire scars or injuries. The sample ID of each tree is displayed to the right of each line. The Composite Axis below represents the composite information from all individual series. The symbols used to represent the fire scars or injuries, and the filters used to determine the composite information, are shown in the legend. These graphs were created using the Fire History Analysis and Exploration System (FHAES). See https://www.fhaes.org/ for more information.