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The following is the established format for referencing this article:
Ward, D. J. 2003. Fire history of Montana de Oro State Park. Conservation Ecology 7(1): r7. [online] URL: http://www.consecol.org/vol7/iss1/resp7/

Response to Odion and Tyler. 2000. "Are Long Fire-free Periods Needed to Maintain the Endangered, Fire-recruiting Shrub Arctostaphylos morroensis(Ericaceae)?"

Fire History of Montana de Oro State Park

David Jefford Ward


Published: March 25, 2003

Odion and Tyler's (2002) paper states that the study area was burned and cleared in 1958 by the army, but provides no fire history prior to 1958. Presumably, it was a firing range. This suggests that there were probably frequent fires prior to 1958, caused by flares, bombs, shells, etc. These may have formed a small-scale, frequently burned mosaic, and would provide an astringent crosscheck on the validity of the paper's conclusion. Also, before it was a military range, what other history is known? Did ranchers or Native Americans use the area? If so, fires may have been frequent then too. The importance of greater temporal scale relates to the paper by Hull et al. in the current issue.




Odion, D., and C. Tyler. 2002. Are long fire-free periods needed to maintain the endangered, fire-recruiting shrub Arctostaphylos morroensis(Ericaceae)? Conservation Ecology 6(2): 4. [online] URL: http://www.consecol.org/Journal/vol6/iss2/art4

Address of Correspondent:
David Jefford Ward
2a Dreyer Road,
Western Australia 6111
Phone: (08) 9397 5684
