A Decision Support Tool to Inform Postfire Reforestation of Ponderosa Pine and Douglas-fir in the Southern Rocky Mountains

Abstract

Recent increases in area burned, combined with poor natural regeneration in some areas, have promoted concerns about widespread forest losses throughout the western U.S. Postfire reforestation is one strategy commonly employed by land managers and land owners to facilitate forest recovery, but the area in need of planting only becomes larger each year. The Southern Rockies Reforestation Tool (SRRT) is a simple web-mapping tool that was developed to help prioritize sites for postfire reforestation. This tool can be used to develop maps of fire severity and seedling suitability for ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), two abundant conifer species in the Southern Rocky Mountains. The seedling suitability map identifies areas that are (1) distant from live seed sources, but (2) have high topoclimatic suitability for the species of interest. In combination, these factors may help to locate sites where natural regeneration is unlikely to occur quickly, but relatively cool and wet conditions may enhance planting success. Finally, these maps can be restricted based on operational constraints such as slope angle or distance to road, and exported for use in external GIS software.