High severity wildfires are increasing in frequency across western north america threatening forest ecosystems ability to regenerate

As the intervals between wildfires shrink to a time period shorter than dominant species require for maturation changes in fire regimes can interact with vegetation to determine postfire forest recovery. Yet few studies have examined the mechanisms underlying how increasingly short interval fires affect understory vascular plant recovery despite these communities crucial role in ecosystem function and future fire activity. Wildfire can affect forest regeneration through several mechanisms including soil nutrient dynamics tree regeneration fuel loading and changes in local environmental conditions. Specifically wildfire releases elements such nitrogen alters stand structure and future fuels via tree mortality and consumption of potential seed sources and influences soil moisture temperature and canopy cover. Together these factors ultimately determine the long term trajectory of vegetation community composition as well as pollination services elemental pools and the fuel for subsequent fires. However we know remarkably little about the direct and indirect effects of wildfire on understory vegetation recovery limiting our ability to predict postfire ecosystem response. To help anticipate wildfire driven vegetation shifts we will use a demographic modeling framework to assess via which environmental effects wildfire restructures understory vegetation and which life stages are most vulnerable. A mechanistic understanding of how changes in fire intervals affect important demographic stages will allow US to identify the processes that contribute to vegetation recovery post wildfire and make targeted management recommendations in burned landscapes.