Although few aspen sprouts are seen in this photo, it won’t be long before small aspen shoots will dominate the entire area. Fires facilitate aspen regeneration by heating the soil and creating a suitable seedbed, reducing plant competition and old aspen overstory.

Tall shrub communities, important to a variety of birds and mammals are also associated with aspen forests and can benefit from fire. Ruffed grouse rely on aspen for food and cover, as do livestock and big game. In addition, cavity-nesting birds use old burnt stands as homes. Lastly aspen use less water than conifers, help reduce soil erosion, and act as fire breaks within the forest.

Because of the many benefits of aspen, the decline of historic stands throughout much of the west is of concern to land managers. On the surface, an aspen stand may look like a group of separate trees, but one group is really a single individual. When a stand disappears, or is outcompeted by another type of vegetation, the stand cannot reproduce by seed, and may be lost to an area.

Ecologists like Dale L. Bartos recommend reduced livestock grazing among aspen trees and a 20-year prescribed burn cycle to halt the decline of aspen in the Western United States.

If aspen declines, what environmental benefits will decline also? Quaking aspen help maintain the biodiversity of forested ecosystems.

In some areas vegetation recovery may be compromised because of soil conditions, grazing, or erosion.