Summary
Mature California black oaks have a “Goldilocks” relationship with fire. A lack of fire (“too cool”) allows shade-tolerant conifers to crowd out the oaks, while more intense fire (“too hot”) typically kills the oak stems. Trees need many decades to grow large enough to produce acorns and large cavities used by animals such as fisher. Landscape alterations, either through the exclusion of fire or emergence of high-intensity, landscape-scale wildfires, are making it harder for California black oaks to thrive in their former abundance. A research team led by Forest Service ecologists Johnathan Long and Frank Lake, with partners from the North Fork Mono tribe, NRCS, UC Extension and Sierra National Forests, synthesized research on the values and opportunities associated with restoring California black oak. The report integrates tribal traditional ecological knowledge with findings from local agency projects and scientific studies regarding black oak and associated plants, fungi and wildlife. The report outlines a landscape-scale strategy that targets intensive thinning and fuels reduction to facilitate broader return of low-intensity fire, as was traditionally used by Native Americans.
