Multiple pathways of post-fire succession in Mesa Verde National Park, southwestern Colorado

Floyd-Hanna, L; Romme, William; Hanna, David; DaVega, Anne

Multiple pathways of succession were evident eight years following a severe 1200-ha fire in Mesa Verde National Park (MVNP). The 1989 Long Mesa fire burned at least three distinct vegetation types (mountain shrublands, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and Douglas fir forests) and covered a mosaic of previously burned patches. The major controlling factor is prefire vegetation structure, which influences the predominant fire behavior via the nature of the fuels complex, and controls the kinds of plant responses that can occur. The previous fire history influences post-fire patterns to a lesser degree. In addition to the community-level heterogeneity of responses that we found in the burned woodlands and shrublands of MVNP, a rich variety of individual species responses to fire occurred. Conifer recovery is not yet evident after 8 years. The spatial extent of non-native plant species was mapped within the burn and compared with the non-native plant distribution in 1993 (these maps are included in the report). Percent foliar cover for vegetation categories (grass, forb, shrub, tree) are given for each vegetation type as well as ANOVA results testing whether foliar cover differs before and after the fire.