tree regeneration

I used aerial imagery, field data, and geospatial data from a mixed conifer forest in the Northern Rockies to investigate which arrangements of surviving trees help burn sites recover. Key findings highlighted the importance of considering the arrangement of landscapes alongside traditional distance to seed source measures when assessing potential for post-fire tree recovery. Importantly, findings showed that burn sites required 40% of the area within a 100 m buffer of the burn site to contain surviving trees for desired regeneration density to occur. Terrain also mattered at burn sites dominated by wind-dispersed tree species, with burn sites positioned above surviving trees less likely to recover naturally. Given that federal law requires land managers to devote resources to burned sites that are not restocking naturally, these findings can help land managers prioritize which burned sites require effort, time, and money for replanting efforts.

This project was funded by the National Science Foundation, National Geographic, Joint Fire Science Program, and NASA.