Figure 6. --Panoramic view 

 of the burned area on 

 August 2, 1963, 1 day 

 after the fire. 



%4 



POSTFIRE VEGETATION 



Shortly after the Neal Canyon prescribed fire, the new tree crop was planted and the roads 

 were seeded with a domestic grass mixture, but no attempt was made to rehabilitate the burned 

 slopes. To date, no overland soil movement has been recorded, and the rocks that rolled down- 

 hill during the fire probably represent the bulk of surface disturbance on the site. 



Natural vegetation recovered rapidly following the fire (fig. 7). In 1 year, live ground 

 cover returned to 27 percent, and in the second year it reached 69 percent- -nearly double the 

 live cover before the fire (tables 3 and 4). Of more significance perhaps is the fact that the 

 three plant species most important in this resurgence (Moldavica parviflora, Ceanothus velu- 

 tinus, and Iliamna rivularis) were either uncommon or not even recorded in the prefire plant 

 community. None of these species have windborne seeds, and it must be concluded that new 

 plants came from seeds buried deep enough in the soil to survive a fire. 



In the second year, three species with light windborne seeds (Lactuca serriola, Epilobium 

 paniculatum, and E. alpinum) appeared in great numbers, and resprouts from Arnica cordifolia 

 and Ribes viscosissimum were recorded in nearly half of the quadrats. Surprisingly, the com- 

 mon fireweed (E. angustifolium) did not increase significantly, although the brilliant flowers 

 were obvious in both the prefire and postfire communities . 



Initial recovery of the shrub layer was dominated by plants resprouting from root systems 

 that survived the fire. Comparison of tables 1,3, and 4 reveals that some species are consid- 

 erably more vigorous in this respect than others. Within 2 years, total density of shrubs had 

 nearly doubled the prefire density, although no seedlings had reached the 18 -inch height re- 

 quired for inclusion in the shrub- sampling category. Several species, notably mountain maple 

 ( Acer glabrum ), serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia), Ribes viscosissimum, willow (Salix 

 scouleriana), and elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) apparently increased in density because 

 root crowns of single plants produced multiple sprouts. 



