Forest ecosystems in the western United States evolved over many millennia in response to disturbances such as wildfires. Land use and management practices have altered these ecosystems, however, including fire regimes in some areas. Forest ecosystems are especially vulnerable to postfire management practices because such practices may influence forest dynamics and aquatic systems for decades to centuries. Thus, there is an in...

Multidimensional forest health initiatives—those designed to restore and protect forest integrity in the large sense—require, among other things, a better understanding of the relationship between the structure of forests and (1) their susceptibility to wildfires outside the range of natural variability and (2) the level of treatment (if any) required to lower susceptibility into an acceptable range. Within the ponderosa pine...