June 15, 1925 
Natural Reproduction after Fires 
1195 
underneath the spread of the limbs 
and among the dense ceanothus and 
willow brush. They seemed healthy, 
though not vigorous, and showed 
promise of survival and growth. Evi¬ 
dently on this warm, dry site the 
shrubbery is to them a help rather 
than a hindrance. No seeding ap¬ 
peared to have taken place in the last 
5 years. 
The finding of these seedlings here 
was a matter of much encouragement 
in that they indicate the probability 
that these brushy areas will eventually 
come back into forest. It will be about 
30 years, however, before those already 
established begin to seed effectively. 
After that, natural restocking should 
be complete in about 20 years. Thus 
these two burns retarded the establish¬ 
ment of a complete new stand for at 
least 50 years. 
AGES OF WHITE PINE SEEDLINGS 
FOUND ON 1910 BURNS 
A closer analysis of the time and 
manner of restocking of western white 
pine can best be made from the data 
obtained on the various 1910 burns. 
Study shows, in most cases, an active 
ermination during the third, fourth, 
fth, and sixth years, followed by an 
irregular germination in other years. 
In no instance has the germination of 
western white pine been pronounced 
during the first two years following the 
burn. White pine germination began 
in earnest in 1913, three years after 
the fire. This first active period 
culminated in 1915 on the 1870 and 
1910 burn; in 1916 or 1917 on Alder 
Creek 2 , and in 1917 and 1918 on the 
Trail Creek areas. 
It may occasion surprise, but in¬ 
vestigations indicate that western white 
pine seed may remain viable in the 
ground for five and six years follow¬ 
ing a burn. In 1914 white pine seed 
was recovered from duff underneath a 
150-year-old stand on Big Creek, 
Kaniksu National Forest. These seeds 
were placed immediately in the green¬ 
house under conditions favorable for 
germination. The first germination 
was about 18 months later. Seeds 
which require 18 months of favorable 
temperature conditions before germi¬ 
nation in the greenhouse might well 
require four or five seasons under 
unfavorable germinating conditions in 
the field. 
The second period of germination 
showed up very strong only on the 
1870 and 1910 double burn on Trail 
Creek. The seed in this case could 
well have come from trees located 
from one-half to one mile away to 
windward. The germination in 1920 
on Alder Creek shows a separate and 
subsequent seeding. Presumably the 
seed did not come very far or similar 
conditions would have been found 
elsewhere. The inference is that the 
seed was distributed during the fall of 
1919, either during or after the big 
fire, and that the green trees about 
one-half mile to the south furnished 
the seed. 
Considering only the germination 
on the single 1910 burns on Trail 
Creek, there is a more or less sustained 
restocking on both the exposed and 
the protected aspects. In most cases 
this shows a fair germination in 1920, 
poor in 1921, rising again in 1922, and 
lowering in 1923. Since there are no 
green trees of white pine which furnish 
seed, closer than one-half mile, and as 
these seedlings appeared promiscuously 
over the area without reference to the 
character of the surface, no other 
deduction seems possible than that 
here a long range seeding is in progress. 
EROSION AND SITE DETERIORA¬ 
TION 
Except for steep south slopes, leach¬ 
ing and site deterioration are negligi¬ 
ble, or at least are not a factor to be 
concerned over. Certain deep gullies 
have been cut on the lower north slope 
on Alder Creek (pi. IV, B). Here 
the head gathered by the water, pre¬ 
sumably at the time of most rapid 
snow melting in spring, has cut gullies 
extending 500 to 600 feet up the slope. 
Soil, as well as rock, is carried down 
these gullies into Alder Creek bottom, 
where the bowlders remain while the 
finer particles are carried away. 
Steep south slopes, however, present 
a serious situation. Here the burns 
are so destructive to all vegetation and 
roots that finer particles of the soil 
leach out or wash away, leaving a sur¬ 
face covering of fine angular rock and 
gravel which becomes very hot and 
very dry in the summer, so much so 
that natural seedlings, when these do 
come up, succumb to drought shortly 
after germination. Even artificial re¬ 
forestation on such sites is very diffi¬ 
cult. 
VEGETATION 
The following observations are briefly 
the more outstanding conclusions re¬ 
garding some phases of succession of 
2 On the Alder Creek area it is not absolutely certain that no germination took place in 1917; there were 
some seedlings the ages of which were doubtful. 
