Predicting Postfire Survival in Coulter Pine (Pinus coulteri) and Gray Pine (Pinus sabiniana) after Wildfire in Central California

Abstract

Abstract Factors related to the survival of Coulter pine (Pinus coulteri) and gray pine (P. sabiniana) 3 yr after a September wildfire were evaluated for a site on the central coast of California. Data for 146 Coulter pine and 117 gray pine were analyzed with logistic regression models to estimate postfire survival in relationship to tree and fire-damage variables. Probability of survival for both species decreased with the increasing percentage of crown scorching and increasing height of bole bark char. Crown scorch was the most important variable for predicting survival of these species, but it was augmented by the bole-damage variable. Survival of gray pine was higher than that of Coulter pine for comparable values of both variables. West. J. Appl. For. 17(3):134–138.