Abstract
Abstract The Whitetail Watershed Restoration Project used prescribed fire in 2005 and 2006 to address quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) decline, conifer encroachment and altered hydrologic function in a forested watershed in southwest Montana. As part of this effort, we evaluated aspen response to fire in two sub-drainages of the Whitetail Basin three years after treatment. Unburned stands were surveyed to determine whether aspen regeneration was occurring following long term disruption of historical fire return intervals. This information was compared to stem response in nearby burned stands. Regeneration was noted in only one of 40 unburned stands, suggesting aspen stands were declining in this area. Three years after prescribed fire sucker density was significantly higher in the burned stands. This increased the likelihood that stands could regenerate. Based on earlier studies describing suppression of stand regeneration by cattle (Bos taurus) and elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) browsing impacts ...
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