Postfire recovery of creosote bush scrub vegetation in the Western Colorado Desert [Larrea tridentata, Hymenoclea salsola, Opuntia echinocarpa]

Postfire recovery of three desert shrubs, Larrea tridentata, Hymenoclea salsola, and Opuntia echinocarpa was examined five years after a fire in the Snow Creek area of southern California. Larrea tridentata resprouted and had nearly regained its estimated former cover. O. echinocarpa excepted, the community has shown substantial recovery. The upper distribution of these desert shrubs may be controlled in part by their susceptibility to periodic fire.