lodgepole pine. Subalpine fir {Abies lasiocarpa) is confin- 

 ed to the upper ravines on this site. A few apparently 

 serotinous lodgepole pine stands were located in the up- 

 per reaches of the bum. 



Tree seedlings on the Pattee Canyon bum occurred 

 with such low frequency that a statisticail analysis of the 

 findings would not provide sufficient evidence to war- 

 rant projections of tree recolonization. Only 17 of 126 

 plots actually contained conifer seedlings. Tree seedling 

 data from these plots are in table 12 and maps of the 

 seedling locations are in appendix C. Although good 

 quantitative information is lacking, certain qualitative 

 features of seedling distribution were noted. 



Many of the seedlings found were located near the 

 edge of the bum or near islands of live trees within the 

 bum. Some sites were without seedlings despite the 



close proximity of seed trees. But with few exceptions, 

 plots with seedlings were reasonably close to seed trees. 

 Where dead lodgepole pines with fire-opened cones were 

 found, lodgepole pine seedlings were dense. 



Data for understory species with greater than 10 per- 

 cent total frequency are summarized by elevation (table 

 13). Spirea and snowberry appear to decrease shghtly in 

 frequency with increasing elevation. Ceanothus 

 (Ceanothus velutinus) is not common on the bumed airea 

 but did have 8 percent and 10 percent frequency at 

 5,000 and 5,400 feet (1 524 and 1 646 m) elevation, 

 respectively. Fireweed shows a decided increase in fre- 

 quency in the area left unseeded and pinegrass shows a 

 lesser increase in the same area. In addition, the number 

 and percent of plots with evidence of overland flow is 

 listed for each elevation (table 13). 



Table 12.— Tree seedling data for Pattee Canyon fire area, 1980 



Elevation Number of Number of 



where plots of Total number Total number seedlings/ 



Species present occurrence of seedlings of plots acre 





Feet (meters) 











Pin us 



5,000 (1 524) 



5 



40 



25 



1,236 



contorta 



4,600 (1 402) 



2 



5 



39 



38.5 



Larix 



5,000 (1 524) 



1 



5 



25 



60 



occidentalis 



4,400 (1 341) 



1 



3 



7 



128.4 





4,200 (1 280) 



2 



3 



45 



20.0 



Pseudotsuga 



4,600 (1 402) 



3 



5 



39 



38.5 



menziesii 



4,400 (1 341) 



1 



1 



7 



42.9 



Table 13.— Percentage frequency in tree seedling plots for understory species with 

 greater than 10 percent total frequency and number and percentage of 

 plots with accelerated overland flow. Plots at 4,300 feet and 4,400 feet 

 were in the area that was not seeded 



Elevation in feet (meters) 



4,200 4,300- 4,600 5,000 5,400 

 (1 280) 4,400 (1 402) (1 524) (1 646) Total 



(1 311- 



Species and 1 134) 



flovi* types n = 45 7 39 25 10 126 



■Percent- 







UNDERSTORY SPECIES 







Shrubs: 















Acer glabrum 



15 



14 



7 



12 





11 



Amelanchier ainifolia 



11 



14 



26 



20 



20 



18 



Physocarpus malvaceus 



51 



29 



72 



44 



30 



53 



Spiraea betulifolia 



62 



43 



46 



32 



20 



47 



Symphoricarpos albus 



36 



57 



26 



8 





25 



Vaccinium globulare 



7 





5 



28 



10 



11 



Grasses: 















Agropyron trichophorum 



42 











15 



Bromus inermis 



9 



14 



33 



36 



20 



23 



Calamagrostis rubescens 



60 



86 



51 



32 





48 



Dactylis glomerata 



78 





49 



76 



40 



61 



Forbs: 















Aster conspicuus 



29 



29 



28 



16 





24 



Epilobium angustifolium 



16 



86 



38 



20 





26 









OVERLAND FLOW 







Number of plots with 















evident overland flow 



4 





9 



8 



2 



23 



Percentage of plots with 















overland flow 



8 





23 



32 



20 



18 



16 



