Working toward a fire-scar network for the Cumberland Plateau—Fire history results from Bridgestone Nature Reserve at Chestnut Mountain, Tennessee1

Abstract

We reconstructed historical fire regime characteristics at the Bridgestone Nature Reserve at Chestnut Mountain using tree-ring dated fire scars on live and dead shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) trees. Fire-scar records described the historical fire frequency and seasonality from the mid-18th century to present. Overall, we found historical fires occurred relatively frequently, predominantly in the dormant season, and were likely low-severity events. Mean fire intervals (MFIs) were slightly longer in the pre-Euro-American period (1744–1834; MFI = 9.6 yrs) versus the post-Euro-American period (1834–1935; MFI = 5.6 yrs). No fires were recorded after 1940, which in combination with past logging and land uses, is likely a major contributor to the ongoing decline of shortleaf pine and pyrophytic oak species observed here. Surprisingly, the majority of fire event years after 1834 were also recorded at Savage Gulf State Natural Area (52 km to the south), raising questions about potential historical fire sizes, patterns, and driving factors across the Cumberland Plateau landscape. In a landscape where fire-scarred remnants are present but relatively scarce and rapidly disappearing, these data are important for evidencing historical fire regimes and developing a more comprehensive regional network of fire history sites that could reveal valuable historical ecological information for the Cumberland Plateau.