Forage Quality in Burned and 

 Unburned Aspen Communities 



Norbert V. DeByle 

 Pliilip J. Urness 

 Deborah L. Blank 



INTRODUCTION 



There are more than 7 milUon acres (3 milHon hectares) 

 of aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) in the West. Very 

 Hkely fire has played an important role in maintaining 

 most of this aspen. On the majority of sites, aspen is 

 even-aged and is serai to conifers. A stand-killing fire at 

 any time prior to the disappearance of aspen from a coni- 

 fer stand often will result in a stand of vigorous aspen 

 suckers (Jones and DeByle 1985). Many decades of fire 

 control in the West have resulted in mature to old aspen 

 stands on most sites (Shepperd 1981). Wildfire in the 

 aspen forest today is an unusual event (DeByle and others 

 1987). 



Silviculturists and wildlife biologists alike generally feel 

 that a predominance of mature to old stands of aspen is 

 not desirable for either the forest or wildlife. Hence, with 

 increasing frequency in the West, land managers are 

 taking steps to rejuvenate aspen on public lands. These 

 steps include the use of prescribed fire to kill conifers that 

 are taking over aspen sites and to kill the existent aspen 

 trees for the purpose of stimulating growth of vigorous 

 stands of young even-aged aspen root suckers (fig. 1). 

 A multiaged mosaic of even-aged aspen stands eventually 

 should be found in western forests. 



Figure 1 — A helitorch being used to burn mature and decadent aspen in the Bridger-Teton 

 National Forest. 



1 



