Science Source

Luke J.Zachmann, Daniel W.H. Shaw and Brett G. Dickson

Forest Ecology and Management

Published date February 1, 2018

Prescribed fire and natural recovery produce similar long-term patterns of change in forest structure in the Lake Tahoe basin, California

Looks at 20  years of data on the response of mixed conifer forest stands in the Sierra Nevada, California to two distinctly different management approaches
The results indicate that treated and long-unaltered, untreated areas may be moving in a similar direction, which runs counter to many regional studies
Finds that treated and untreated areas experienced declines in tree density, increases in the size of the average individual, and losses of surface fuels in most size classes
Finds that there is similar long-term forest structure change from prescribed fire and natural recovery
Small trees and fine fuels are declining in long-recovering, untreated forest
Argues that management approaches that promote naturally recovering landscapes may complement ongoing and planned fuel reduction treatments
Concludes that allowing for natural processes to proceed unimpeded may also be important for maintaining or increasing forest heterogeneity, resilience, and biodiversity