Fire regimes, forest change, and self‐organization in an old‐growth mixed‐conifer forest, Yosemite National Park, USA

A 2125-hectare old-growth mixed-conifer forest in Yosemite National Park exhibited frequent, low-severity fires with a median return interval of 10 years and an average burn extent of 115 hectares before Euro-American settlement. These fires created small canopy openings (<0.2 ha) and showed self-organizing behavior, with area burned increasing tenfold when an area had not been affected by the previous fire. Post-1905 fire suppression led to a significant increase in forest density, basal area, and a shift toward shade-tolerant, fire-intolerant species. The study suggests that restoring frequent, low-severity burns can mimic historical conditions, reducing surface fuels and creating small canopy openings characteristic of the reference forest.

Scholl, A. E., & Taylor, A. H. (2010). Fire regimes, forest change, and self‐organization in an old‐growth mixed‐conifer forest, Yosemite National Park, USA. Ecological Applications, 20(2), 362–380. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1890/08-2324.1