Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Fire History From Dendrochronological Analyses At Two Sites Near Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S.A., Ian C. Feathers

Masters Theses

Fire, logging, livestock grazing, and insect outbreaks are disturbances that have significantly influenced both the historic and present fire regimes. The composition and structure of vegetation communities within Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) have likely changed in response to these disturbances. Two study sites (CRX, the near site, and CRT, the far site) were chosen along the Cooper Road Trail based on topographic separation, presence of mixed oak-pine communities, presence of fire-scarred yellow pine trees, and GSMNP land acquisition records. To quantify and evaluate fire regimes, individual fire histories were developed for each site from fire-scarred yellow pine trees, …