Fire as ecosystem process
In many forest types, fire maintained structure and species composition for millennia. Suppression-only policies increased fuel loads and homogenized stands vulnerable to catastrophic crown fire.
Fire regimes
- Surface fire — low intensity; maintains open understory in ponderosa pine.
- Mixed-severity — patchy mortality across landscape.
- Stand-replacing — high severity; resets cohort in lodgepole or boreal spruce.
Management tools
Prescribed fire, managed wildfire where safe, and mechanical thinning reduce fuel continuity. Fuel breaks and defensible space integrate forestry with community protection.
Post-fire silviculture
Salvage logging decisions balance economic recovery, habitat for cavity nesters, and erosion risk. Natural regeneration may suffice where seed banks and surviving trees remain; planting needed after high-severity patches.