Generally the fuel loads in ravines are heavier than 

 those on upland sites. For some categories, such as duff, 

 the higher ravine loads can be attributed to the inclusion 

 of relatively unburned areas in the ravine sample. For 

 the live fuels, however, the difference is caused by the 

 more mesic conditions in the ravines. 



There were only four fuel plots in the unburned ravine 

 area of stand 7, but they indicate some potential dif- 

 ferences in fuels in the grass and forb, duff and litter 

 layers. Under the dense canopy the understory vegeta- 

 tion is sparse. The amount of duff is relatively low in 

 this rather dry ravine and probably comparable to 

 amounts found generally before the fire. 



Tree seedling data is also collected in this method. In 

 1979 seedlings were only found in stand 24, with about 

 100 Douglas-fir per acre and 100 lodgepole pine per acre. 

 In 1980 lodgepole pine seedlings were found in stcmd 21 

 with approximately 1,275 per acre; stand 24 with 200 

 per acre, and stand 26 with 360 per acre. Larch seed- 

 lings were also found in stand 24 in 1980 with 100 per 

 acre. Seedling distribution is very uneven in these plots. 



MOSS DEVELOPMENT ON STUDY AREA 



Field methods and data analysis. Daubenmire (1970) 

 implies that mosses and hchens are important in prevent- 

 ing wind erosion in Washington steppe and it has also 

 been shown that certain mosses and liverworts are 

 characteristic of newly burned areas (Duncan and Dalton 

 1982). In Pattee Canyon, bryophytes and Uchens were 

 sampled in the same tremsects used for the permanent 

 vegetation samples (McCune 1978). Both upland and 

 ravine stands were sampled in 1978 and most upland 

 stands were resampled in 1979. Transects were com- 

 posed of two 25-m segments, with 2- by 5-dm quadrats 

 spaced at 2-m intervals; thus, 25 quadrats were analyzed 

 per plot. Modified Daubenmire (1959) percentages of 

 cover classes were used to evaluate species cover within 

 the quadrats: 0-1 percent, 1-5 percent, 5-15 percent, 

 15-25 percent, 25-56 percent, 50-75 percent, 75-95 per- 

 cent, and 95-100 percent. Cover class midpoints were 

 averaged to arrive at a single percentage of cover value 

 for each species for each stand. Nomenclature of mosses 

 follows Crum and others (1973). 



Results of moss study. Soon after snowmelt the spring 

 following the fire, mosses and liverworts were apparent 

 on the burn and they continued to spread during the ear- 

 ly summer. This bryoid layer was well developed by the 

 September 1978 sample, aided by a cool, moist spring 

 and early summer. On uplemd sites the principal coloniz- 

 ing species were Ceratodon purpureas, Bryum spp. 

 (mainly Bryum caespiticium), Funaria hygrometrica, and 

 Marchantia polymorpha. The first two had an average 

 combined cover of 22 percent. They are pioneer species 

 that colonize disturbed soil throughout the Northern 

 Hemisphere. Bryophyte data are summeirized in table 11 

 and found in appendix B. 



The fire destroyed mosses and epiphytic Uchens 

 throughout the burned area except for a few smeJl areas 

 near the burn perimeter and in some ravines. The same 

 colonizing mosses that were found on upland sites were 

 also found in the ravines, silthough their cover was 

 generally less in ravines. 



Table 11.— Bryophyte cover, 1978-81 



Ravines Uplands 

 Species 1978 1978 1979 1981 



Percent 



LJidL'MyilltrL/IUIII o|J|J. 





n 1 



U. 1 



n 1 



U. 1 





Bryum spp. 



2.1 



7.0 



7.2 



33.0 



Ceratodon purpureas 



3.7 



15.4 



14.6 



17.2 



Funaria hygrometrica 



.1 



.6 



.3 



.1 



Leptobryum pyriforme 



1.3 



.3 







Marchantia polymorpha 



.7 



.4 







.4 



Plagiomnium insigne 



5.0 









Polytrichum juniperinum 



V 



.1 



T 



1.5 



Rhytidadelphus triquetrus 



1.1 









Timmia austriaca 



.9 









■"T = trace (less than 0.5 percent). 



In 1979, mosses on the upland sites remained general- 

 ly the same. Marchantia polymorpha disappeared, ap- 

 pEirently because of the dry summer. Moist ravine sites, 

 which were not revisited by McCune in 1979, did still 

 contain some Marchantia in 1979. 



In 1981 mosses increased, with Bryum caespiticium 

 perhaps increasing at the expense of Ceratodon pur- 

 pureus (table 11). Polytrichum also appears to be gaining 

 cover and will probably continue to increase in the 

 future. Marchantia reappeared on uplemd sites and 

 lichens (Peltigera sp.) appeared on upland sites for the 

 first time since the fire. 



DISTRIBUTION OF CONIFER REGENERATION IN 

 THE STUDY AREA 



Sampling methods. In order to determine the relative 

 success of conifer regeneration, seedling data were 

 gathered during the summer of 1980. Transects were 

 established along elevational contours. Four transects 

 were placed completely across the burn at 400-foot 

 (122-m) intervals (at 5,400, 5,000, 4,600, and 4,200 feet 

 elevation; 1 646, 1 524, 1 402, and 1 280 m). A few plots 

 at the western edge of the 4,200-ft (1 280-m) transect are 

 within the area that was salvage logged in 1978. Some 

 partial transects were also run at 4,300 and 4,400 feet 

 (1 31°1 and 1 341 m) elevation in order to gather more 

 data in the eirea left unseeded by introduced grasses. Cir- 

 cular, 1/300-acre (13.5-m2) plots were spaced at 328-foot 

 (100-m) intervds along each transect. There were 126 of 

 these seedling plots. 



Within each plot, the total number of seedlings of each 

 tree species was recorded. In addition the height and age 

 of the three tallest individuals were recorded. Site 

 vEiriables recorded at each plot included elevation, slope, 

 aspect, duff depth, and indications of soil movement. 

 The presence or absence of standing live or dead trees, 

 and the distance and species of the two nearest potential 

 seed trees (considered if within 150 feet; 46 m) were 

 listed. Presence or absence of understory vascular plemts 

 and bryophytes in each plot was recorded. 



Results of seedling inventory. The major tree species 

 present before the fire were Douglas-fir, western larch, 

 ponderosa pine, and, above 4,500 feet (1 372 m). 



15 



