In 2002, a large, severe wildfire burned vast expanses of Routt National Forest. The fire burned a great variety of forest stands in regards to species, age, and topographic position. Additionally, a large portion of the burned forest had been affected by a severe windstorm just five years prior. Over the past several years, we've been collecting data from permanent plots to observe how different parts of the forest are responding to this disturbance.

In some stands, we see abundant regeneration of one or more tree species. In others, no seedlings have been able to establish in the 13 years following the fire. It is our goal to determine which factors seem to be the most influential on the varying types and amounts of regeneration that we've observed. Which species are better able to regenerate in certain environments? How does postfire regeneration in stands that were blowndown in 1997 differ from regeneration in similar stands that were not blowndown? How influential are climatic factors, and how might a warming climate affect postfire regeneration in these types of forests? These are some of the many questions we are attempting to answer with this study.