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Wildfire effects on understory shrubs and herbs, regeneration of the seedling and sapling size classes, and downed and dead fuels were assessed in a mixed conifer stand located in the Lake Tahoe Basin in which California white fir (Abies concolorvar.lowiana[Gord.] Lemm.) was most abundant but with Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyiGrev. & Balf.) also prevalent. In burned and unburned stand portions, prefire measurements served as a basis of comparison for the postfire measurements pertinent to each study component. Fire severely suppressed the understory vegetation, which was dominated by shrubs such as bush chinquapin (Chrysolepis sempervirens[Kellogg] Hjelmqvist) and antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata[Pursh] DC.), while a tepid postfire recovery of most of the preexisting species in the burned stand portion was augmented by new ones, including shrubs such as snowbrush (Ceanothus velutinusDouglas ex Hook.) and whitethorn (Ceanothus cordulatusKellogg) ceanothus and herbs such as Holboell's rockcress (Arabis holboelliiHornem.). Tree seedling abundance was also substantially reduced in the burned portion, but the postfire population was dominated by Jeffrey pine whereas white fir had been most prevalent originally. Sapling regeneration was eliminated from the burned stand portion regardless of species. Downed and dead fuel loading was severely diminished by the fire, especially regarding fine fuels, permitting subsequent sheet erosion to imperil new seedling regeneration. These results contribute to an understanding of the direction and pace of postwildfire succession on sites occupied by Sierra Nevada mixed conifer and similar forest cover types, which is critical in decisions concerning the need for, and extent of, postfire site rehabilitation measures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The loss of species diversity and plant community structure throughout the temperate deciduous forests of North America have often been attributed to overbrowsing by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginanus). Slow species recovery following removal from browsing, or reduction in deer density, has been termed a legacy effect of past deer herbivory. However, vegetation legacy effects have also coincided with changes to soil chemistry throughout the north-eastern USA. In this paper, we assess the viability of soil chemistry (i.e. pH, extractable nutrients and extractable metals) and other factors (topography, light, overstory basal area and location) as alternative explanations for a lack of vegetation recovery. We compared the relative effects of soil chemistry, site conditions and short-term (1–2 year) deer exclusion on single-species occupancy probabilities of 10 plant taxa common to oak-hickory forests in central Pennsylvania. We found detection for all modelled species was constant and high (⁠ p ^ > 0.65), and occupancy probability of most taxa was best explained by at least one soil chemistry parameter. Specifically, ericaceous competing vegetation was more likely to occupy acidic (pH < 3.5), base cation-poor (K < 0.20 cmolc kg−1) sites, while deer-preferred plants were less likely to occur when soil manganese exceeded 0.1 cmolc kg−1. Short-term deer exclusion did not explain occupancy of any plant taxon, and site conditions were of nominal importance. This study demonstrates the importance of soil chemistry in shaping plant community composition in the north-central Appalachians, and suggests soil as an alternative, or additional, explanation for deer vegetation legacy effects. We suggest that the reliance on phyto-indicators of deer browsing effects may overestimate the effects of browsing if those species are also limited by unfavourable soil conditions. Future research should consider study designs that address the complexity of deer forest interactions, especially in areas with complex site-vegetation histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]