Reforestation of Brush Fields 17 



others which, however, are of minor importance in reforestation. 

 Next to the matter of abundance, the most important considera- 

 tion is tolerance. With the idea of tolerance are coupled the 

 ideas of density of foliage, ability for man to penetrate it, 

 amount of direct and dififused light admitted to the seedlings 

 underneath, and the possibility of allowing young trees to start 

 under it and penetrate through it. Such species as manzanita, 

 snowbrush and cherry are less tolerant than whitethorn, chin- 

 quapin, and serviceberry, and hence are more favorable in every 

 respect for planting purposes. 



VALUE OF THE CHAPARRAL TYPE 



In addition to being only a temporary type, the chaparral is a 

 transitional type between timberland that has been swept bare by 

 fire and timberland that is actually producing timber. This type 

 seems to be an intermediate stage through which most of our 

 timberlands which have been swept bare by fire must pass before 

 they can again revert to timberland. There are many reasons 

 why the forest will not take direct possession. When fire has 

 finished its work there is usually nothing left but the bare min- 

 eral soil; even this has suffered severely from the heat. The 

 soil has lost its humus condition and its fertility. The valuable 

 nitrogen has gone ofif in the smoke and has left the less valuable 

 mineral elements. In addition to this, the hght, shallow, volcanic 

 soils are left to the mercy of their worst enemies, drought and 

 erosion. Our long dry season deprives these soils of every 

 vestige of moisture, and if it were not for the brush, our heavy 

 rains and snows and high winds would soon transport most of 

 these soils, leaving nothing but the bare rocks. To wait for the 

 forest to slowly take hold of these burned-over areas would be 

 to expose our soils to all these conditions for many years before 

 there would be a stand dense enough to protect the site. 



The so-called brush species are the only plants that can endure 

 these adverse conditions, so that, in establishing themselves on 

 these burned areas, they perform a most valuable silvicultural 

 function. They not only prevent the soil from being transported, 

 but they also put the soil into a condition so that it can again 

 produce timber. Brush, besides enriching the soil with decaying 

 leaves, forms temporary forest conditions for the young seedling. 



