Reconstructing Fire Recurrence Intervals

Reconstructing Fire Recurrence Intervals Using Hesperocyparis sargentii on Hood Mountain, Sonoma County, California

Presenter: Elise Piazza

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Department: Geography, Environment, & Planning

Funding Source/Sponsor: CEI

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1xDBgxzaAZhAsjD4d3X0hrh9LkSYn2WLf

Abstract:
Since the October 2017 wildfires in Sonoma County, California there has been a growing desire to understand more about fire frequency. Through a dendrochronological study of a Hesperocyparis sargentii stand, this study aims to create a more complete fire recurrence interval for Hood Mountain. It’s important to note that this species is endemic to that region and grows only under certain conditions in California and in Hawaii. This specific stand was heavily affected during the 2017 fires and many trees were killed. Samples were collected, processed for analysis, and analyzed using standard dendrochronological techniques. The study finds that there were eight occurrences of fire among our samples. Some of these occurrences correspond with recorded fires in the area while others do not. This indicates that there are more fires in the area than are being recorded. Future work could look further into the fire record and the samples themselves.