ROLE OF FIRE IN CALIFORNIA PINE FORESTS 37 
creasingly important as the cutting of the virgin forest progresses 
and the nature of fires on cut-over areas makes adequate attention 
imperative. 
Of the total of nearly 1,500,000 acres cut over in the pine region, 
564,000 acres are estimated to be in a nonproductive condition, mainly 
because of fire. These 564,000 acres are either completely denuded 
of tree growth, or are depleted to the extent that less than a third of 
the stand has survived. Table 18 shows by classes of owners the 
amount of cut-over land and the amount of nonproductive land. 
The figures are approximate, being based on extensive field examina- 
tion of the larger areas, and representative samples of the smaller. 
TABLE 18.—Proportion of denuded areas on cut-over land in private ownership 
to 1922 
| Total cut- Area denuded 
Class of ownership Number | over land ! 
| (acres) | Acres | Per cent 
| pe 
Dare uSeED tah te weg nose Bae ee a ALS 24 636, 430 | 271, 970 34 
SS HO Dea VOLS ae eee ee eee ne go age 27 100, 600 20, 000 20 
ake ANION OREFALORSHE ss tae Paes Skye WE ee SENS SSS el tie be | 34 121, 050 46, 550 38 
Sor CE ee US SS ae, SE Se ee ee 76 75,000 | 25, 000 33 
Waiter and: pOwemeomMpaMmess = =ses- ee teks) tes ste | 5 34, 800 8, 900 26 
SARL AS OO oe Be oe ke ee ee ee ee eee 2.] 31, 000 12, 000 39 
SUNT GAS ete ee ee ee ee fete Uti ben) iy se! 2 94, 000 32, 300 34 
Palp and paper conmpaniesrs (os (07 is be bes ois et_ sph lite 1 14, 300 4, 300 30 
AVI TA) COLT CS = eae Ree ee ae ig ees Se a | A) 6, 47 2, 870 44 
COGMENSH Aspe part Sone heer we ce Leh ee AEE ee a 2, 982 | 355, 950 | 140, 110 39 
| | 
3,405 1, 469, 000 | 564, 000 38. 4 
1 Data from owners, county assessors, and Forest Service records. 
EFFECTS OF SLASH FIRES 
On one area in the east side western yellow pine type, experiments 
were conducted by an operating company to determine both the 
feasibility of broadcast summer burning of slash on small areas of 5 
to 25 acres and the damage resulting therefrom. The particular in- 
terest of this company was the protection of adjacent timber and the 
removal of slash in the hope of decreasing insect infestation. Plate 
VI shows views of this area before and after burning. While the 
particular object of the operator was attained in this case, the 
burning has left the area in such shape that it will require years for 
the forest to reclaim it. This is no exceptional instance, but is the 
inevitable result of such practices. 
On another typical area studied in detail a cruise of the reproduc- 
tion surviving logging was made and exactly the same area was reex- 
amined after the slash burning. In spite of the fact that the fire 
was confined to a small area and the burning was done at night, with 
consequently none of the rapid spread characteristic of slash fires, 
the results were as follows: 
Before the fire—705 small trees; 80 per cent of plots with reproduction. 
After the fire—86 small trees; 31 per cent of plots with reproduction. 
Effect of fire.—12 per cent of small trees remaining; 39 per cent of reproductive 
area remaining. 
The area can not be classed as devastated, but the figures give 
evidence that the new stand will be but a fractional part of the ca- 
pacity of the land. 
