Predicting spatio-temporal variability in fire return intervals using a topographic roughness index

The shapes of landscapes are fundamental to ecosystem processes at various spatial scales. Topographic roughness index (TRI) is a measure of variability in the landscape surface and a proxy of the potential of disturbances to propagate across the earth's surface, such as a wildland fire burning across a landscape. We describe the significance of TRI, present methods for calculation, and demonstrate the utility of the index in a fire frequency prediction model. The model was used to show how the relationships between topography, fire, and humans changed during the period of AD 1620–1850 for a study area (5180 km²) in Missouri, USA. The model predicted historic mean fire return intervals from TRI and two human population variables. The model explained 46% of the variation in mean fire return intervals and demonstrated that topographic roughness was most important in controlling fire frequency during the period AD 1620–1780 when human population density was lowest (<0.35 humans/km²). Due to increases in human population, mean fire return intervals were shortened by up to one-fourth of their original length and the landscape became more homogeneous with respect to fire frequency despite topographic roughness. The use of TRIs in wildland fire research aid in quantifying and visualizing topographic variability and could be applicable to multiple scales and ecosystem processes.     

Effect of Freezing Snow Disaster on Forest Fuel and Fire Behavior in Southern China

After freezing snow disaster,stands of Pinus massoniana,Cunninghamia lanceolata. Liquidambar formosana,Cinnamomum camphora and Phyllostachys pubescens and new burned areas in Hunan Province were surveyed by setting field plots.Moisture content and fuel load were measured by sampling and fire behavior(such as rate of fire spread) was calculated.The results showed that fuel load got doubled instantly,fuel thickness enhanced,fuel continuity swelled and water content of fuel decreased as shrubs and herbs die...     

Historical fire and vegetation dynamics in dry forests of the interior Pacific Northwest,USA, and relationships to Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) habitat conservation

Regional conservation planning frequently relies on general assumptions about historical disturbance regimes to inform decisions about landscape restoration, reserve allocations, and landscape management. Spatially explicit simulations of landscape dynamics provide quantitative estimates of landscape structure and allow for the testing of alternative scenarios. We used a landscape fire succession model to estimate the historical range of variability of vegetation and fire in a dry forest landscape (size ca. 7900 km²) where the present-day risk of high severity fire threatens the persistence of older closed canopy forest which may serve as Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) habitat. Our results indicated that historically, older forest may have comprised the largest percentage of the landscape (∼35%), followed by early successional forest (∼25%), with about 9% of the landscape in a closed canopy older forest condition. The amount and condition of older forest varied by potential vegetation type and land use allocation type. Vegetation successional stages had fine-grained spatial heterogeneity in patch characteristics, with older forest tending to have the largest patch sizes among the successional stages. Increasing fire severities posed a greater risk to Northern Spotted Owl habitat than increasing fire sizes or frequencies under historical fire regimes. Improved understanding of historical landscape-specific fire and vegetation conditions and their variability can assist forest managers to promote landscape resilience and increases of older forest, in dry forests with restricted amounts of habitat for sensitive species.     

Assessing fire risk using Monte Carlo simulations of fire spread

Understanding the spatial pattern of fire is essential for Mediterranean vegetation management. Fire-risk maps are typically constructed at coarse resolutions using vegetation maps with limited capacity for prescribing prevention activities. This paper describes and evaluates a novel approach for fire risk assessment that may produce a decision support system for actual fire management at fine scales. FARSITE, a two-dimensional fire growth and behavior model was activated, using ArcView VBA code, to generate Monte Carlo simulations of fire spread. The study area was 300 km² of Mt. Carmel, Israel. FARSITE fuel models were adjusted for Mediterranean conditions. The simulation session consisted of 500 runs. For each simulation run, a calendar date, fire length, ignition location, climatic data and other parameters were selected randomly from known distributions of these parameters. Distance from road served as a proxy for the probability of ignition. The resulting 500 maps of fire distribution (the entire area burnt in a specific fire) were overlaid to produce a map of ‘hotspots’ and ‘cold spots’ of fire frequency. The results revealed a clear pattern of fires, with high frequency areas concentrated in the northwestern part. The spatial pattern of the fire frequency map bears partial resemblance to the fuel map, but seems to be affected by several other factors as well, including the location of urban areas, microclimate, topography and the distribution of ignition locations (which is affected by road pattern). These results demonstrate the complexities of fire behavior, showing a very clear pattern of risk level even at fine scales, where neighboring areas have different risk levels due to combinations of vegetation cover, topography, microclimate and other factors.     

Positive fire–grass feedback in Mediterranean Basin woodlands

Fires can mediate switches between alternative vegetation types which may be more flammable and thus reinforce fire spread. We tested if there is a positive feedback between the expansion of the tussock grass Ampelodesmos mauritanica (hereafter Ampelodesmos) and fire hazard in Mediterranean Basin communities and its relation to tree cover decline. The effect of fire on Ampelodesmos population structure was analysed by surveying stands burned at different fire frequencies. The effect of vegetation dominated by Ampelodesmos on fire behaviour compared to other species coexisting in the community was predicted by the Rothermel fire propagation model BEHAVE. There was a negative correlation between pine cover and percentage of Ampelodesmos plants. Ampelodesmos mortality after fire is very low. Recently burned stands had a higher proportion of reproductive plants and higher seedling density than unburned stands. The high temperatures reached during fire may kill seeds, the higher seedling recruitment results from fast resprouting and higher seed production of burned plants compared to unburned plants 1 year after fire. Simulations with the BEHAVE fire model predict that Ampelodesmos increases fire intensity and spread because of its high accumulation of fuel load and standing dead material. The results suggest that there is a positive relationship between Ampelodesmos abundance and fire regime which increases the invasive potential of this grass and the fire risk of the community where it dominates.     

Canopy fuel characteristics and potential crown fire behavior in Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) forests

Canopy fuel characteristics that influence the initiation and spread of crown fires were measured in representative Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill.) stands in Greece. Vertical distribution profiles of canopy fuel load, canopy base height and canopy bulk density are presented. Aleppo pine canopy fuels are characterized by low canopy base height (3.0–6.5 m), while available canopy fuel load (0.96–1.80 kg/m²) and canopy bulk density (0.09–0.22 kg/m³) values are similar to other conifers worldwide. Crown fire behavior (probability of crown fire initiation, crown fire type, rate of spread, fireline intensity and flame length) in Aleppo pine stands with various understory fuel types was simulated with the most updated crown fire models. The probability of crown fire initiation was high even under moderate burning conditions, mainly due to the low canopy base height and the heavy surface fuel load. Passive crown fires resulted mostly in uneven aged stands, while even aged stands gave high intensity active crown fires. Assessment of canopy fuel characteristics and potential crown fire behavior can be useful in fuel management and fire suppression planning.     

Understorey fuel load estimation along two post-fire chronosequences of Pinus halepensis Mill. forests in Central Greece

Pinus halepensis forests are among the forest ecosystems in the Mediterranean Basin most affected by fire. Their distribution across lowland areas, in particular along the wildland–urban interface, increases the need to understand their ecology and responses to fire regime for their effective management. Apart from the extremely flammable tree layer, in several stands of these forests there is an increased fuel load attributed to the well-developed understorey of evergreen sclerophyllous shrubs. Taking into consideration that, in contrast with the long period required for full development of post-fire-regenerating pines, these shrubs resprout vigorously within the first post-fire weeks, it is important to explore the temporal trend of fuel accumulation to determine the risk of a second fire across a burned landscape. Two post-fire chronosequences of, in total, 12 P. halepensis stands were considered for sampling in Central Greece. The first chronosequence corresponds to pine stands characterized by the dominance of evergreen sclerophyllous shrubs in the understorey (Type 1) whereas the second chronosequence corresponds to pine stands where the cover of such shrubs was lower (Type 2). This study helps in understanding the fuel dynamics according to the type of P. halepensis forest stand and to anticipate future biomass growth. The proposed equations are simple tools, enabling land managers to estimate understorey total fuel load easily by visually recording the cover and height of the evergreen sclerophyllous shrub component, to justify understorey fuel reduction measures.     

Analyzing the effectiveness of alternative fuel reductions of a forested landscape in Northeastern China

Successful management of forest fire risk in the Northeastern China boreal forest ecosystem often involves trade-offs between fire dynamics, fire hazard reduction, and fiscal input. We used the LANDIS model to study the effects of alternative fuel reduction strategies on fire dynamics and analyzed cost effectiveness for each fuel reduction strategy based on cost–benefit theory. Five levels of fuel treatment area (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10% for each decade) and two fuel treatment types (prescribed burning [PB] and mechanical treatments in combination with prescribed fire [PR]) under current fire suppression simulated by LANDIS were compared in a 5 × 2 factorial design over a 300-year period. The results showed that PR scenarios are more effective at reducing the occurrence and burn area of catastrophic fires than PB scenarios. In addition, area burned by high intensity fire can be tremendously reduced by increasing low intensity fires with a higher level of treatment area under the various PR scenarios. The cost effectiveness of alternative fuel reduction strategies is strongly dependent on treatment area. In general, PB scenarios will be more cost effective in larger treatment areas and PR scenarios in smaller. We recommend mechanical treatments in combination with prescribed fire, with 4% of landscape treated in each decade (PR04) to be the optimal fuel reduction strategy in the study area based on risk control and cost efficiency analysis. However, the most challenging work in China is to make local forest policy makers and land managers accept the ecological function of fire on forest ecosystems.     

Behind the flaming zone: Predicting woody fuel consumption in eucalypt forest fires in southern Australia

Pre-fire woody fuel (diameter > 0.6 cm) structure and its consumption by fire were measured at experimental/prescribed fires and high intensity wildfires in eucalypt forests in southern Australia in order to better understand and model the dynamics of woody fuel consumption. Two approaches were used in model development: (1) a fire or plot level analysis, based on a dataset which includes the proportion of the pre-fire woody fuel load consumed at each fire; and (2) a stage level analysis, based on a dataset where woody fuel consumption was measured at a woody fuel particle level (i.e. pre-fire and post-fire diameter). For the plot level analysis a generalised linear model (GLM) approach identified the Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) as the best predictor of the proportion of woody fuel consumed, with an R² of 0.58 and mean absolute error of 10%. The stage level analysis recognised the various combustion stages through which a burning woody particle would pass, but failed to develop an accurate model that predicted the ignition, partial and full consumption of woody fuels based on fuel, fire behaviour and environmental variables. Analysis showed that consumption of woody fuel particles is highly variable and that variation in fire behaviour potentially has a greater impact on woody fuel consumption, than does variation in fuel characteristics (e.g. state of decay, fuel suspension and interactions with other fuel particles). The FFDI GLM provides forest and fire managers with a tool to manage woody fuel consumption objectives and may assist fire managers with forecasting post-frontal fire behaviour. The FFDI GLM may also assist forest and fire managers to better meet land management goals and to comply with air quality and emission targets.     

Road paving,fire regime feedbacks,and the future of Amazon forests

Fire poses the greatest threat to the forests of Amazônia. The magnitude of this threat is amplified by three positive feedback loops that drive the expansion of forest fire in the region: (1) Fire promotes drought, and therefore more fire, by releasing smoke into the atmosphere, thus reducing rainfall. Fire-assisted conversion of forests to pastures may also promote drought by increasing albedo and decreasing water vapor flux to the atmosphere, further inhibiting rainfall. (2) Fire increases the susceptibility of forests to recurrent burning by killing trees, thereby allowing sunlight to penetrate the forest interior, and increasing the fuel load on the forest floor. (3) Finally, fires also self-perpetuate by burning agricultural and forestry systems, discouraging landholders from making those fire-sensitive investments in their land that would allow them to move beyond their dependence upon fire as a management tool.The long-term reduction of Amazon fire, and its substantial costs to society, is most likely to emerge through investments and policy change that stimulate permanent agricultural and forestry production systems within existing frontiers while slowing the rate of frontier expansion. But the Brazilian government’s plan to pave, recuperate or construct 6245 km of roads in the Amazon may have the opposite effect. We present research findings that the government plan would nearly double the area of forestland that is accessible by paved highways, including 192,000 km² of fire-prone forest. Our analysis finds that these roads will stimulate 120,000–270,000 km² of additional deforestation, and forest impoverishment through logging and understory fire, if the historical relationship between road paving and forest alteration by humans continues. Infrastructural investments are urgently needed in Amazônia to help integrate isolated urban centers into the market economy, to improve the quality of life for millions of rural Amazonians, and to improve the profitability of agribusiness in Brazil’s agricultural belt. But as currently planned, these investments will have the ancillary effects of accelerating deforestation, logging, forest fire, smoke-related illness, and the displacement of small-scale farmers.     

Changes in wildfire severity from maritime pine woodland to contiguous forest types in the mountains of northwestern Portugal

Large and severe wildfires are now widespread in the Mediterranean Basin. Fire severity is important to ecosystem properties and processes and to forest management but it has been neglected by wildland fire research in Europe. In this study, we compare fire severity between maritime pine (PS) woodland and other forest (OF) types, identify other variables influent on fire severity, and describe its variation. We sampled contiguous, paired stands of PS and OF cover types – including deciduous and evergreen broadleaves and short-needled mountain conifers – that burned under very high to extreme fire danger in northwestern Portugal. Data on stand characteristics and fire severity metrics were collected in plots along transects perpendicular to the PS–OF boundary. Fire severity was rated in separate for the tree canopy, understorey vegetation and forest floor layers, and then an average (composite) fire severity rating was calculated. Fire intensity inferred from stem char height (adjusted for the effects of other factors) was highest in PS, followed by deciduous broadleaved woodland and short-needled conifer forest. With a few exceptions, all fire severity ratings were significantly different between PS and OF at all sites. Most fire severity metrics and ratings were correlated. The distance for fire severity minimization did not differ between OF types (median = 21 m). Variation in composite fire severity was accounted for by a classification tree (R² = 0.44) based on cover type (contributing with 51% to the overall explanation), stand variables, aspect, distance to the PS–OF edge and fire spread pattern. Except for a more immediate decline in deciduous broadleaves, fire severity rating was not affected by OF type and tended to decrease in more mature stands and moister aspects. The fire severity moderation from PS to OF was compounded by a dominant pattern of down slope fire propagation into moister topographical positions, exacerbating the fuel effect implicit in the cover type change. The results are consistent with fire hazard and fire incidence studies and support conventional knowledge that advocates the expansion of broadleaved deciduous or evergreen forest as a means to achieve more fire-resilient ecosystems and landscapes.     

Wildfire risk in the wildland–urban interface: A simulation study in northwestern Wisconsin

The rapid growth of housing in and near the wildland–urban interface (WUI) increases wildfire risk to lives and structures. To reduce fire risk, it is necessary to identify WUI housing areas that are more susceptible to wildfire. This is challenging, because wildfire patterns depend on fire behavior and spread, which in turn depend on ignition locations, weather conditions, the spatial arrangement of fuels, and topography. The goal of our study was to assess wildfire risk to a 60,000 ha WUI area in northwestern Wisconsin while accounting for all of these factors. We conducted 6000 simulations with two dynamic fire models: Fire Area Simulator (FARSITE) and Minimum Travel Time (MTT) in order to map the spatial pattern of burn probabilities. Simulations were run under normal and extreme weather conditions to assess the effect of weather on fire spread, burn probability, and risk to structures. The resulting burn probability maps were intersected with maps of structure locations and land cover types. The simulations revealed clear hotspots of wildfire activity and a large range of wildfire risk to structures in the study area. As expected, the extreme weather conditions yielded higher burn probabilities over the entire landscape, as well as to different land cover classes and individual structures. Moreover, the spatial pattern of risk was significantly different between extreme and normal weather conditions. The results highlight the fact that extreme weather conditions not only produce higher fire risk than normal weather conditions, but also change the fine-scale locations of high risk areas in the landscape, which is of great importance for fire management in WUI areas. In addition, the choice of weather data may limit the potential for comparisons of risk maps for different areas and for extrapolating risk maps to future scenarios where weather conditions are unknown. Our approach to modeling wildfire risk to structures can aid fire risk reduction management activities by identifying areas with elevated wildfire risk and those most vulnerable under extreme weather conditions.     

森林可燃物管理研究进展

立地条件、天气和可燃物决定了森林火灾的强度与烈度, 三大因素中, 只有对可燃物能进行有效的经营管理。研究表明:1)过去60~100年, 由于森林结构和组成的改变, 可燃物载量增加, 易发生高强度的森林火灾。2)林火模型、实践经验以及现场观察表明, 在特定的天气条件下, 林火行为受可燃物结构与组成的影响很大。3)减少重特大森林火灾的发生就必须降低地表可燃物的数量、密度、连续性, 移除过度可燃物, 或改造植被, 降低森林植被的燃烧性等。4)可燃物处理有效期评估涉及林火蔓延、林火强度、烈度、火场规模和扑火能力的研究, 景观尺度手段优于林分尺度。     

Forest fragmentation,structure, and age characteristics as a legacy of forest management

The combination of forest inventory and satellite-derived landscape composition and structure provides otherwise unavailable information on regional forest conditions and enables investigation of the cumulative effects of forest management over time. Forest pattern results from a range of both natural and anthropogenic factors. This study characterizes the forest pattern of Vancouver Island, British Columbia (>32,000 km²) at the watershed scale, using new national datasets of Canadian forest composition and fragmentation, and relating these to forest inventory-derived age structure. Vancouver Island is extensively forested, possessing highly valuable and productive forests, and is managed to meet a range of stakeholder interests. Forest fragmentation metrics were derived from a satellite-derived, 25-m spatial resolution land cover map (i.e., grain) to represent patterns within 1 km analysis units (i.e., extent) for the entire forested area of Canada. We summarized forest fragmentation island-wide and compared trends between forest-dominated (>85% forest) and less-forested (<85% forest) watersheds. We also explored these patterns with partial canonical correspondence analyses to determine the independent and shared relationships of landscape composition, forest fragmentation, and spatial variables with forest age structure.     

Effects of roads,topography, and land use on forest cover dynamics in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Roads and topography can determine patterns of land use and distribution of forest cover, particularly in tropical regions. We evaluated how road density, land use, and topography affected forest fragmentation, deforestation and forest regrowth in a Brazilian Atlantic Forest region near the city of São Paulo. We mapped roads and land use/land cover for three years (1962, 1981 and 2000) from historical aerial photographs, and summarized the distribution of roads, land use/land cover and topography within a grid of 94 non-overlapping 100 ha squares. We used generalized least squares regression models for data analysis. Our models showed that forest fragmentation and deforestation depended on topography, land use and road density, whereas forest regrowth depended primarily on land use. However, the relationships between these variables and forest dynamics changed in the two studied periods; land use and slope were the strongest predictors from 1962 to 1981, and past (1962) road density and land use were the strongest predictors for the following period (1981–2000). Roads had the strongest relationship with deforestation and forest fragmentation when the expansions of agriculture and buildings were limited to already deforested areas, and when there was a rapid expansion of development, under influence of São Paulo city. Furthermore, the past (1962) road network was more important than the recent road network (1981) when explaining forest dynamics between 1981 and 2000, suggesting a long-term effect of roads. Roads are permanent scars on the landscape and facilitate deforestation and forest fragmentation due to increased accessibility and land valorization, which control land-use and land-cover dynamics. Topography directly affected deforestation, agriculture and road expansion, mainly between 1962 and 1981. Forest are thus in peril where there are more roads, and long-term conservation strategies should consider ways to mitigate roads as permanent landscape features and drivers facilitators of deforestation and forest fragmentation.     

Response of antelope bitterbrush to repeated prescribed burning in Central Oregon ponderosa pine forests

Antelope bitterbrush is a dominant shrub in many interior ponderosa pine forests in the western United States. How it responds to prescribed fire is not well understood, yet is of considerable concern to wildlife and fire managers alike given its importance as a browse species and as a ladder fuel in these fire-prone forests. We quantified bitterbrush cover, density, and biomass in response to repeated burning in thinned ponderosa pine forests. Low- to moderate-intensity spring burning killed the majority of bitterbrush plants on replicate plots. Moderately rapid recovery of bitterbrush density and cover resulted from seedling recruitment plus limited basal sprouting. Repeated burning after 11 years impeded the recovery of the bitterbrush community. Post-fire seed germination following the repeated burns was 3–14-fold lower compared to the germination rate after the initial burns, while basal sprouting remained fairly minor. After 15 years, bitterbrush cover was 75–92% lower on repeated-burned compared to unburned plots. Only where localized tree mortality resulted in an open stand was bitterbrush recovery robust. By controlling bitterbrush abundance, repeated burning eliminated the potential for wildfire spread when simulated using a customized fire behavior model. The results suggest that repeated burning is a successful method to reduce the long-term fire risk imposed by bitterbrush as an understory ladder fuel in thinned pine stands. Balancing the need to limit fire risk yet provide adequate bitterbrush habitat for wildlife browse will likely require a mosaic pattern of burning at the landscape scale or a burning frequency well beyond 11 years to allow a bitterbrush seed crop to develop.     

Boreal mixedwood species composition in relationship to topography and white spruce seed dispersal constraint

In this study we integrated digital terrain models, forest inventory maps, optical remote sensing and field data to analyze the spatial structure of a 4850 km² boreal mixedwood forest landscape in northeastern British Columbia. We built independent maps of forest cover and landform using a Bayesian classification algorithm and quantitative surface analysis. These data were used to test the strength of the association between topographic position and forest cover using a modified electivity index. We then used logistic regression to test whether the probability of a site being occupied by either mixedwood or hardwood is correlated to its distance from white spruce (Picea glauca) seed sources. The relationship between forest cover and topography showed significant departures from randomness, with white spruce preferentially associated with channels and concave slopes, and hardwoods preferentially associated with ridges and convex slopes. The analysis of mixedwood and hardwood stand distribution showed a positive correlation between hardwood occurrence and distance from spruce stands, suggesting that the dispersal limitations of white spruce is a significant influence on landscape vegetation dynamics. Overall, the results support the hypothesis that mixedwood dynamics are the product of ecological processes at multiple scales. Furthermore, these dynamics are only revealed by taking a varied approach to both data gathering and analyses.     

Mastication and prescribed fire impacts on fuels in a 25-year old ponderosa pine plantation, southern Sierra Nevada

Due to increases in tree density and hazardous fuel loading in Sierra Nevadan forests, land management is focusing on fuel reduction treatments to moderate the risk of catastrophic fires. Fuel treatments involving mechanical and prescribed fire methods can reduce surface as well as canopy fuel loads. Mastication is a mechanical method which shreds smaller trees and brush onto the surface fuel layer. Little data exist quantifying masticated fuel beds. Despite the paucity of data on masticated fuels, land managers desire fuel loading, potential fire behavior and fire effects such as tree mortality information for masticated areas. In this study we measured fuel characteristics before and after mastication and mastication plus prescribed burn treatments in a 25-year old ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa C. Lawson) plantation. In addition to surface fuel characteristics and tree data collection, bulk density samples were gathered for masticated material. Regressions were created predicting masticated fuel loading from masticated fuel bed depth. Total masticated fuel load prior to fire treatment ranged from 25.9 to 42.9 Mg ha⁻¹, and the bulk density of masticated fuel was 125 kg m⁻³. Mastication treatment alone showed increases in most surface fuel loadings and decreases in canopy fuel loads. Masticated treatment in conjunction with prescribed burning reduced both surface and canopy fuel loads. Detailed information on fuel structure in masticated areas will allow for better predictions of fire behavior and fire effects for fire in masticated fuel types. Understanding potential fire behavior and fire effects associated with masticated fuels will allow managers to make decisions on the possibility of mastication to create fuel breaks or enhance forest health.     

Yellow pine regeneration as a function of fire severity and post-burn stand structure in the southern Appalachian Mountains

We used pre- and post-burn fire effects data from six prescribed burns to examine post-burn threshold effects of stand structure (understory density, overstory density, shrub cover, duff depth, and total fuel load) on the regeneration of yellow pine (Pinus subgenus Diploxylon) seedlings and cover of herbaceous vegetation in six prescribed-fire management units located within western Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) in east Tennessee, USA. We also evaluated the utility of the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) as a predictor of post-burn stand and fuel conditions by comparing post-burn stand variables for different ranges of KBDI (23-78; more wet, and 328-368; more dry). We found that yellow pine seedlings were effectively absent in post-burn forests until overstory density was reduced over 40%, understory density was reduced over 80%, and post-burn shrub cover was 10% or less. We also observed that a reduction in total fuels of 60% and a post-burn duff layer depth of less than four cm were required for successful regeneration of yellow pine. Total herbaceous species cover exhibited near identical responses with increased cover following an 80% reduction in understory density and a post-burn duff depth of less than 4 cm. We observed strong positive relationships between high KBDI values and burn severity, changes in forest structure, reductions in fuels, and post-burn yellow pine reproduction. We observed continuous recruitment of yellow pine seedlings 5 years after fire in high KBDI burns while low KBDI burns showed little change in yellow pine density through time. An intense outbreak of the southern pine beetle (SPB; Dendroctonus frontalis) occurred within 2 years of our high KBDI burns and reduced shading resulting from overstory mortality likely enhanced the survival of yellow pine seedlings. The results of this study provide targets for the application of prescribed fire to restore yellow pine in the southern Appalachians. Continued research and monitoring will help determine how prescribed fire can best be applied in combination with other disturbance agents such as SPB to perpetuate yellow pine forests.