Dendrochronological Investigations of the Fire History in the Sinclair Restoration Area, Kootenay National Park, British Columbia

Abstract

Forest structure in the Rocky Mountains has been affected by fire suppression of one form or another during the last 100 years. This project characterized fire dynamics of an Interior Douglas-fir forest in Sinclair Restoration Area of Kootenay National Park, British Columbia. This study was completed by collecting fire scarred trees and establishment plot dynamics within the Sinclair Restoration Area. The fire history was then compared against fire histories from similar locations and forest compositions in the Pacific Northwest. As well, a review of indigenous use, by the Ktunaxa and Shuswap, of the Sinclair Restoration Area and burning practices is completed. It is posited that a low severity high frequency late fall fire regime occurred at Sinclair Restoration Area during the period of 1795 to 1889. Data indicated that regeneration of Douglas-fir in the stand is related to fire events. Since the last fire event that stand has shifted away from open grassland, with mature occasional Douglas-fir, to a densely stocked Douglas-fir forest. Fire years align with trends seen with others throughout forests of the Rocky Mountains, possibly indicating that climate is affecting the fire regime. However, the characteristics of fire events in the Sinclair Restoration area align with burning practices of the Ktunaxa and Shuswap nations who utilized the study site and surrounding region. Fire events in the Sinclair Restoration Area stop around the time of European settlement in the area. Additionally, no fire event has been observed in the study area since 1889. The fire regime of the Sinclair Restoration Area may be the result of a combination of climate and indigenous induced burning events.