DOI: 10.5061/dryad.dncjsxm5r
title: Mexican mixed-species forest shows resilience to high-intensity fire

description: In the aftermath of a high-intensity wildfire in La Michilía Biosphere
 Reserve, Mexico, an initial study suggested a shift from an oak-pine
 forest to a grass-savanna ecosystem. We conducted repeated measurements on
 sixty permanent plots 1, 5, 10, and 20 years after the original wildfire
 at paired burned and unburned study sites to capture spatial and temporal
 dynamics in forest composition and structure. We found that the burned
 site regained most pre-wildfire characteristics two decades after the
 wildfire. The ongoing regeneration in the burned site suggests that
 despite the remaining differences, the site is approaching a complete
 recovery, with forest characteristics analogous to the unburned site. Our
 findings indicate that the combination of seeders' wildfire
 resistance and resprouters’ post-wildfire sprouting strategies in
 mixed-species forests provide high resilience to high-intensity wildfire.
 Moreover, protecting La Michilía as a biosphere reserve and heightened
 public awareness of the natural environment likely played an indispensable
 role in facilitating the recovery of the post-wildfire
 ecosystem. 
description: We re-sampled sixty permanent plots in the
 buffer zone of the MBR at approximately 2,245
 m elevation in the burned and unburned study sites five
 (2001), ten (2006), and twenty years (2017) after the wildfire (Fig. 2).
 The 2017 measurement was conducted in early March, ahead of the 2017
 growing season, so we considered it to represent the 2016 growth. Center plots were
 established in 1996 and remeasured in 1997 on a 100 x 100
 m grid spacing (Fig. 3). For each 200
 m2 circular fixed-area
 plot, we re-measured live tree overstory characteristics (species,
 condition class, diameter at breast height, and total tree height) and
 cut trees by species, and their diameter at stump height. We also measured
 dead woody biomass, litter (distinguishable plant parts like bark and
 twigs scattered on the forest floor), and duff (partially decomposed
 organic matter found between the litter layer and the A1 soil horizon,
 with minimal similarities to the original plant
 structure), along a planar
 transect from the center plot in the direction established in 1996. Additionally, we tallied tree
 species regeneration across height classes (less than
 40 cm, between 40.1 and 80
 cm, and between 80.1 and 130 cm) over a nested 40 m² circular
 plot. For the complete
 procedures of field sampling methods, please refer to the
 Field Sampling
 section in Fulé et al.
 (2000).  
description: # Mexican mixed-species forest shows resilience to high-intensity fire
 csv. files contain data
 sampled from 60 permanent plots in the buffer zone of the Michilía
 Biosphere Reserve, Durango, Mexico, at approximately 2,245 m elevation in
 the burned and unburned study sites one month after a wildfire (1996), and
 one (1997), five (2001), ten (2006), and twenty years (2017)
 post-wildfire. cjfr-2023-018 Suppla.pdf Supplementary files: Table S1,
 Table S2, Table S3, Figure S1, Figure S2, Figure S3, Figure S4, and Figure
 S5 ## Description of the data and file structure MBR_PlotInfo.csv:
 Plot=Plot identification (1-30 burned; 31-60 unburned), Slope (%), Aspect
 (°), Elevation (m), UTM_Zone, Easting, Northing, Sampling dates d/m/y
 (Date1=1996; Date2=1997; Date3=2001; Date4=2006; Date5=2017).
 MBR_TreeInfo.csv: Year=Inventory year, Plot=Plot identification, Tree
 Count, Species, Condition class*, DBH=Diameter at Breast Height (cm),
 DSH=Diameter at Stump Height (cm). 'NA' cells indicate
 unmeasured DBH or DSH. MBR_RegenInfo.csv: Year=Inventory year, Plot=Plot
 identification, Species, Condition class*, Seedling_40:130= tally young
 trees across height classes (less than 40 cm, between 40.1 and 80 cm, and
 between 80.1 and 130 cm). 'null' cells indicate absent
 regeneration. MBR_FuelsInfo.csv: Year=Inventory year, Plot=Plot
 identification, Slope=transect slope (%), Azimuth=transect direction (°),
 Onehr= tally 1-hr fuels, Tenhr= tally 10hr fuels, Hundredhr= tally 100hr
 fuels, Ts_1:6= diameter (cm) 1000hr sound fuels, Tr1:6= diameter (cm)
 1000hr rotten fuels, L1:4_in=litter depth (in), D1:4= duff depth (in).
 'NA': In Year=2017, Plot=57, L4_in and D4_in measurements
 missing. *Condition class: (1) live, (2) declining, (3) recent snag, (4)
 loose bark snag, (5) clean snag, (6) broken above breast height, (7)
 broken below breast height, (8) dead & down, (9) cut stump, (10)
 stumphole, (11) dead above breast height, sprouting below, (12) sprouting
 throughout tree, (13) dead stem sprouting at base, (14) cut stump
 sprouting at base, (15) not found