Natural tree regeneration and coarse woody debris dynamics after a forest fire in the western Cascade Range
By: Martin J. Brown, Jane Kertis, and Mark H. Huff
Contributors: Kertis, Jane, author; Huff, Mark H., author; Pacific Northwest Research Station (Portland, Or.)
Series: Research paper PNW -- RP-592; Research paper PNW -- RP-592.
Publisher: United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Portland, OR
Language: eng
Number of pages: 50
Subjects: Conifers; Regeneration; Forest regeneration; Vegetation dynamics; Forest fires
Description: We monitored coarse woody debris dynamics and natural tree regeneration over a 14-year period after the 1991 Warner Creek Fire, a 3631-ha (8,972-ac) mixed severity fire in the western Cascade Range of Oregon. Rates for tree mortality in the fire, postfire mortality, snag fall, and snag fragmentation all showed distinct patterns by tree diameter and species, with Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) more likely to survive a fire, and to remain standing as a snag, than other common tree species. Natural seedling regeneration was abundant, rapid, and highly variable in space. Densities of seedlings >10 cm height at 14 years postfire ranged from 1,530 to 392,000 per ha. Seedling establishment was not concentrated in a single year, and did not appear to be limited by the abundant growth of shrubs. The simultaneous processes of mortality, snag fall, and tree regeneration increased the variety of many measures of forest structure. The singular event of the fire has increased the structural diversity of the landscape.
Notes: Cover title.

"May 2013."

Format not distributed to depository libraries.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 40-45).

Available also in electronic format on the Internet.