Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Fire Disturbance, Forest Structure, And Stand Dynamics In Montane Forests Of The Southern Cascades, Thousand Lakes Wilderness, California, Usa, Matthew F. Bekker, Alan H. Taylor

Wasatch Dendroclimatology Research

We examined tree diameter, age structure, and successional trends in 100 montane forest plots to identify the effects of variation in the return interval, severity, and extent of fires on forest structure and dynamics in the southern Cascade Range, California. We classified 100 forest plots into 8 groups based on stand structural characteristics. Median point fire return intervals were shortest in lower montane mixed conifer and Jeffrey pine–white fir stands (13-25 y) and upper montane red fir–white fir stands (14.5-19.5 y), intermediate in lodgepole pine stands (50-76.5 y), and longest in high-elevation red fir–mountain hemlock stands (100 y). Fire severity …