Shaded sites produce about twice the number of germinants as full sun. In Alaska, sites that had been scarified following clear cutting were fully stocked after 3 years. Following disturbance, the bulk of birch regeneration becomes established during the first growing season from seeds that fell the previous fall and winter. Paper Birch can also regenerate from sprouts following cutting or fire. Younger trees produce more sprouts than older trees.
Sprouts tend to mature and decline sooner than trees originating from seeds.
Paper Birch is considered to be a shade-intolerant tree. In natural stands, birch usually last for only one generation before being replaced by a more shade tolerant species. However, when growing in a mixed stand with spruce, birch often retain a position in the stand, and the stands do not go toward a pure spruce climax. Birch can invade declining old-growth spruce in openings created by the death and uprooting of the spruce. Mineral soil exposed by uprooting and decaying fallen trees provide suitable seedbeds.