Sandra L. Haire Carl H. Key Phillip N. Omni Linda A. Joyce Natasha B. Kotliar 2003 <p>We evaluate burn-severity patterns for six burns that occurred in the southern Rocky Mountains and the Colorado Plateau in 2000. We compare the results of two data sources: Burned Area Rehabilitations Teams (BAER) and a spatial burnseverity model derived from satellite imagery (the Normalized Burn Ratio; NBR). BAER maps tended to overestimate area of severe burns and underestimate area of moderate-severity burns relative to NBR maps. Low elevation and more southern ponderosa pine burns were predominantly understory burns, whereas burns at higher elevations and farther north had a greater component of high-severity burns. Thus, much, if not most, of the area covered by these burns appears to be consistent with historic burns and contributes to healthy functioning ecosystems.</p> application/pdf en U.S. Department of Agriculture Lessons from the fires of 2000: Post-fire heterogeneity in ponderosa pine forests text