Do repeated wildfires promote restoration of oak woodlands in mixed-conifer landscapes?

•We examined California black oak response following a 12 year reburn.•Black oaks are resilient to repeated high-severity wildfire.•Oaks gained in relative canopy dominance over conifers at higher reburn severities.•Oak regeneration resulting from first fire was topkilled at low reburn severities.•Mature oak woodlands are unlikely to develop in frequent high-severity fire regimes. Oak woodlands are dependent on frequent fire to maintain the low stem density and diverse understories that typify these ecosystems. Without this recurrent disturbance, fire-sensitive conifer competitors encroach on oaks, reducing their vigor, and diminishing habitat quality. In fire-excluded oak woodlands, stand-replacing wildfire can trigger shifts in canopy dominance from seed-generated conifers to oaks, which are capable of vigorous sprouting following topkill. We examined the occurrence and sprouting dynamics of California black oak (Quercus kelloggii Newb.) following repeated wildfires in the Lassen National Forest, California. We found that following reburn, changes in oak relative stand dominance, as well as oak sprout basal area and height, were each positively related to fire severity (P