Pre-fire treatments have persistent effects on post-fire plant communities

Abstract

Wildfires characterized by large areas of high severity are increasingly occurring in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa P. & C. Lawson) forests of the Southwest to extents that are out of the natural range of variability. Managers are now routinely applying thinning and/or burning treatments to reduce fire severity. To investigate the effects of pre-fire treatments and fire severity on post-fire vegetation recovery, we re-measured established plots on the 2002 Rodeo-Chediski Fire on the White Mountain Apache Tribal (WMAT) lands eight years post-fire and the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest (ASNF) nine years post-fire.

Citation

Shive, Kristen L. 2012. Pre-fire treatments have persistent effects on post-fire plant communities. Flagstaff, AZ: Northern Arizona University. Thesis. 112 p.