Trend of mountain big Sagebrush crown cover and ground cover on burned sites, Uinta Mountains and West Tavaputs Plateau, Utah

Photography and notes on file at the Supervisors Office, Ashley National Forest make it possible to date many fires in mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana) communities on this National Forest. Crown cover of mountain big sagebrush and other shrubs was measured in repeat visits to many burned sites. Burned areas studied varied in age from 1 year to 42 years. Crown cover measurements in these burns demonstrate high capability of mountain big sagebrush to return to burned sites. Crown cover of mountain big sagebrush was highly variable in post burn environments. After 15 years post burn, crown cover of mountain big sagebrush varied from 4 to 46 percent at the various study sites. This variability indicates highly diverse structure and cover of mountain big sagebrush in post burn environments. In addition to crown cover, ground cover was also measured. These measurements demonstrate rapid return of ground cover in mountain big sagebrush communities. Most burned sites had greater than 80 percent ground cover after 5 years post burn.