PATTERNS OF LODGEPOLE PINE REGENERATION FOLLOWING THE 1988 YELLOWSTONE FIRES

In 1988, fires killed extensive lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex. Loud) in Yellowstone National Park. This species bears both seroti nous and non-serotinous cones, with the former most common in fire-ori gin stands of an even-aged character. Reconnaissance of burned stands indicated that former even-aged communities regenerated effectively. O thers did not. The larger and;more uniformly-sized seedling under form erly even-aged communities suggests primarily a single wave of regener ation there. Seedlings appeared to initiate to some degree over multip le years under other stands, but not sufficiently to make them well st ocked. Four different regeneration pathways seem to characterize the n atural reforestation of lodgepole pine following the 1988 fires. These include: (1) a dense, uniformly distributed cohort that will develop as a single-storied stand; (2) lodgepole pine islands that form over l ong periods around isolated seedlings; (3) a moderate to low density c ohort that will gradually fill with multiple age classes over a protra cted period; and (4) a cohort of only widely scattered single seedling s that initially form as small nearby tree islands, and may eventually converge into a more continuous stand with multiple age classes. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.