Forest T\pcs and their Relations to Burns 27 



two or three lightning-struck trees on a single acre in the vicinity, 

 of these ridges. Fires started by campers and cowmen are less 

 frequent in this type because of the limited amount of grazing, 

 and the less desirable hunting and fishing localities. 



The fighting of fire is even more difficult and complex than 

 in the fir type, chiefly because of the inaccessibility of this region 

 due to topography, and the lack of roads and trails. Adequate 

 natural fire barriers are few, and the construction of artificial 

 barriers is rendered very difficult by the fallen timber and the 

 complexity of the underbrush. However, roads and trails are 

 gradually being built at great expense along the main ridges, and 

 these will form important points from which to control fires. 

 They will also serve to connect look-out stations from which to 

 watch for fires over large areas of the forest. Fire prevention 

 in this and the fir type is more necessary than in lower types and 

 wherever possible the number of fire guards should be increased. 



RESTOCKING OF BURNT OVER AREAS. 



Past experiences seem to show that the burns will almost 

 always restock sooner or later. On some areas grasses and 

 sedges have come in before the seedlings of either the tem- 

 porary or permanent type have had an opportunity to start, 

 and a grass land has prevailed which practically excludes hope 

 of future 'natural reproduction. However, these instances are 

 rare and usually occur on the exposed southern slopes or in 

 the sub-alpine type. 



The coniferous woodland usually restocks directly without 

 the intervention of a temporary type. The few mature trees 

 which escape the fire gradually seed-in the burnt areas. The 

 hardwoods along the stream courses cover such a small area, 

 and are subject to burns so infrequently that their restocking 

 is nearly always adequate. 



In the high-class forests, including all remaining types, a 

 temporary type almost always comes in after a fire. In the 

 Western Yellow Pine type this temporary type may be either 

 Aspen or Gambel Oak. In the Mogollon mountains Aspen seems 

 to be the prevailing temporary type species. It may come in 

 within two or three years after the time of burning, or not until 

 five or six years afterward. The density of the Aspen depends 

 on the moisture content and quality of the soil. Where the soil 

 is fairly deep and rich and the moisture content is high the 

 Aspen is so dense that it forms thicket stands. On the drier and 

 more exposed slopes the Aspen occurs in very thin stands, or 

 occasionally may not come in at all. Where Aspen fails grass 



