Nonstructural carbohydrates and tree data after a spring prescribed fire in Montana

This data publication contains tree and nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC) (soluble sugars, starch) data from an investigation of how fire affects NSCs based on fire-caused injury from a prescribed fire in a young ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson var. ponderosa C. Lawson) stand in 2021-2022 at the University of Montana's Experimental Bandy Ranch and adjacent Blackfoot-Clearwater Wildlife Management Area. The study included 21 trees within the burn unit and 9 within the unburned control unit. Measurements were recorded pre-fire and at six timesteps post-fire (4 days to 16 months). Tree attribute and status data are provided for all 30 trees and include measurements such as crown injury (crown scorch and bud kill), diameter at breast height, tree height, bark thickness, and tree status (live or dead) at each timestep. A second data file includes measured NSCs of needles and inner bark (i.e., secondary phloem) of both branches and main stems of each tree.
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between fire injury (crown volume scorched, bud kill) and levels of nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs) in ponderosa pine after a spring 2021 prescribed fire, and to determine the impacts of fire on NSCs more generally by comparing trees burned in a spring 2021 prescribed fire to unburned control trees at an adjacent site.
For more information about this study and these data, see Reed and Hood (2024).