Rocky Mountain Research Station

Title: Surface fuel litterfall and decomposition in the northern Rocky Mountains, U.S.A.

Author: Keane, Robert E.

Date: 2008

Source: Research Paper RMRS-RP-70. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 22 p.

Station ID: RP-RMRS-070

Description: Surface fuel deposition and decomposition rates are important to fire management and research because they can define the longevity of fuel treatments in time and space and they can be used to design, build, test, and validate complex fire and ecosystem models useful in evaluating management alternatives. We determined rates of surface fuel litterfall and decomposition for a number of major forest types that span a wide range of biophysical conditions in the northern Rocky Mountains, USA. We measured fuel deposition for more than 10 years with semi-annual collections of fallen biomass sorted into six fuel components (fallen foliage, twigs, branches, large branches, logs, and all other canopy material). We gathered this material using a network of seven to nine, 1-m2 litter traps installed at 28 plots that were established on seven sites with four plots per site. We measured decomposition for only fine fuels using litter bags installed on five of the seven sites and monitored for biomass loss from the bags each year for 3 years. Deposition and decomposition rates are summarized by plot, cover type, and habitat type series. We also present various temporal and spatial properties of litterfall and decomposition fluxes across the six fuel components.

Dataset for RMRS-RP-70

Keywords: fuel dynamics, fuel accumulation, deposition, decay, downed dead woody, simulation modeling

View and Print this Publication (1.5 MB)

Publication Notes: 

• We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
• This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.
• You may send email to rschneider@fs.fed.us to request a hard copy of this publication. (Please specify exactly which publication you are requesting and your mailing address.)

 Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility

Citation

Keane, Robert E.  2008.  Surface fuel litterfall and decomposition in the northern Rocky Mountains, U.S.A..   Research Paper RMRS-RP-70. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 22 p..