Shrub Communities, Spatial Patterns, and Shrub-Mediated Tree Mortality following Reintroduced Fire in Yosemite National Park, California, USA

Reintroduced fire in Yosemite National Park significantly reduced shrub patch area, biomass, and spatial density, while increasing the mean distance between patches by 135%. The study found that fire-related tree mortality within shrub patches was marginally lower (67.6%) compared to areas without shrubs (71.8%), contrasting with findings in chaparral-dominated ecosystems where most trees are killed by fire. Researchers used extensive continuous mapping of trees and shrub patches across a 25.6-ha study site, along with new allometric equations for beaked hazel, to assess changes post-fire. The research highlights the complex role of shrubs in forest fuel load, tree mortality, and regeneration, providing critical insights into fire ecology in lower montane forests of the Sierra Nevada.

Lutz, J. A., Furniss, T. J., Germain, S. J., Becker, K. M. L., Blomdahl, E. M., Jeronimo, S. M. A., Cansler, C. A., Freund, J. A., Swanson, M. E., & Larson, A. J. (2017). Shrub Communities, Spatial Patterns, and Shrub-Mediated Tree Mortality following Reintroduced Fire in Yosemite National Park, California, USA. Fire Ecology, 13(1), 104–126. https://doi.org/10.4996/fireecology.1301104