Postfire Planting in Colorado

Author: Brandon McWilliams

Forests naturally go through cycles of disturbance and regrowth, but sometimes these disturbances are so severe that a forest struggles to recover on its own. In other instances, management priorities may call for an area to be reforested more quickly than would occur naturally. In either case, land managers may choose to replant an area themselves. This fact sheet provides a summary of a study examining what conditions affect the success of conifer seedlings planted after fires in Colorado.