The area burned in high severity fire as well as the proportion of fires burning at high severity have been increasing in southwestern ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests since the 1980s, with over 100,000 hectares burning in many recent years and many fires burning at over 40% moderate to high severity. These fires often contain large patches (>100 ha) of 100% tree mortality. This is a concern as it can lead to the establishment of nonnative species and conversion to non-forest vegetation such as shrublands. Additionally, with an increasing amount of fire on the landscape, high severity patches are reburning. However, information on the ecological trajectory of the vegetation after high-severity reburns as well as the utility of remotely sensed burned severity metrics (dNBR) in these reburns is largely unknown. We investigated how reburns of high severity patches affect ponderosa pine regeneration and plant community composition, as well as the ecological significance of dNBR in these reburns. We examined the effects of reburns of high severity patches on ponderosa pine presence and regeneration as well as plant community composition. This study expanded our understanding of how reburns of high severity patches impact ponderosa pine regeneration and plant community composition and the utility of remotely sensed burn severity in these patches.
