This is a resample of understory cover/density plots that were originally established in 2001 at HREC to study shrub and understory responses to fuel treatments. Twenty-four experimental units of 2 ha each were originally sampled, with 4 replicates of each treatment (control, fire-fall, fire-winter, fire-spring, mastication-fall, and mastication-spring). Each unit had 15 permanent line transects established to quantify shrub cover and surface fuels, and 10 permanent understory plots established to quantify understory cover and density. Units were sampled for both shrub and understory pre-treatment (2001), for 3 years post-treatment (2002-2006), and ~10 years post-treatment (2012). The River Fire burned through 19/24 units in 2018, and in 2021, a UCB student sampled the shrub cover line transects in 2021. The plan for summer 2025 is to resample the understory plots in these 19 units to assess understory cover, native vs. non-native presence, and grass vs. forb abundance post-treatment and post-wildfire.

Approved