Natural reforestation can occur in some situations such as fires of lower severity where live “seed trees” remain in the mosaic or there remain viable seeds in the seed bed. But where burns are severe, and all the trees are killed, tree crowns are burned, and seeds in the soil are burned, leaving no seed source for natural reforestation. In these cases, if we want a replacement forest in any reasonable timeframe, replanting is necessary.
By CHF Board Member Mark Buckbee | Communities for Healthy Forests | July 27th, 2022
Over the past decade, wildfires have annually burned between 4 and 10 million acres of forest and rangeland in the US. This number includes private and public lands, but a majority has occurred on public lands in the western US.
It is estimated that the US Forest Service currently has a tree planting backlog of 4 million acres.
When forests burn, it occurs at various intensities, resulting in different impacts on the forest vegetation and soils. This is known as fire severity and ranges from low to high severity. Sometimes the damage is uneven in coverage and severity, resulting in patchiness, also known as mosaic burns. In mosaic burns, there will be islands of live trees remaining. In some other fires such as the 2020 Archie Creek Fire, almost all of the trees were killed and the soil substantially damaged, earning the rating of high severity.
On public lands, the land classification (eg. Wilderness) and specific Forest Plan will determine if trees can be salvaged. But it is always appropriate to assure that the forest is reestablished.
Depending on fire severity, burned forests may be reforested naturally by reseeding from trees spared by the fire, or by planting with seedlings. Regrettably, on public lands, planting is often delayed, and these lands will be quickly infested by grass and brush and exceedingly difficult to reforest.
There is increasing evidence that climate change and associated droughts in the western US are creating conditions that are detrimental to reestablishing fire-killed forests, and without planting, some forests will remain brush fields for the foreseeable future.
Some groups opposed to active forest management are advocating for natural recovery-only of burned forests, claiming a benefit of natural processes. This is often the wrong approach for multiple reasons.
Natural reforestation can occur in some situations such as fires of lower severity where live “seed trees” remain in the mosaic or there remain viable seeds in the seed bed. But where burns are severe, and all the trees are killed, tree crowns are burned, and seeds in the soil are burned, leaving no seed source for natural reforestation. In these cases, if we want a replacement forest in any reasonable timeframe, replanting is necessary.
Forests provide fish and wildlife habitat, clean water and air, timber products, and recreation. It is also important to recognize the value of a young, rapidly growing forest in terms of carbon sequestration.
Communities for Healthy Forests wants reforestation to occur irrespective of ownership or land classification. Brush fields or greatly understocked forests are a poor substitute for a new, healthy forest that can only come from replanting after fire.
Mark Buckbee is a retired Federal forester who had a 34 year career with the Bureau of Land Management in western Oregon. He holds a Bachelors degree in Forest Resources Management from SUNY-Syracuse and a Masters degree in Forest Science from Utah State University.
Contact Mark via email at buckbeefamily@msn.com. See more from Communities for Healthy Forests at www.communitiesforhealthyforests.com or visit the CHF Facebook page.