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Table 2 Peer-reviewed studies published through 2018 were used to evaluate effectiveness of resource objective wildfires for restoring frequent-fire forests of the western US. Table shows the number of publications reporting decreases, neutral (no change), or increases in attributes commonly used to evaluate ecological restoration success in frequent-fire forests of the western United States. Bolded responses are typically considered desirable restoration outcomes (e.g., Reynolds et al. 2013). Note: attributes are not mutually exclusive to individual studies; some publications reported on responses of multiple attributes

From: Restoration applications of resource objective wildfires in western US forests: a status of knowledge review

Attribute

Response

Decrease

Neutral

Increase

Forest structure

 Total tree density

10

0

0

 Fire-intolerant species density

6

0

0

 Small-diameter tree density

6

0

0

 Large-diameter tree density

3

2

0

Fire characteristics

 Burn severity

4

2

1

 Fire extent or size

3

0

0

Understory vegetation

 Total abundance

1

3

2

 Species richness

1

2

2

 Exotic species abundance

0

1

3

Landscape patterns

 Heterogeneity

0

0

5

 Stability or resilience

0

0

4