In late summer 2000 the Jasper Fire burned ∼34,000 ha of ponderosa pine forest in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Although regarded as a catastrophic event, the Jasper Fire left a mosaic of fire severity across the landscape, with live trees present in areas burned under low andmoderate fire severity. In October 2005, we cored 96 trees from unburned, low-severity, and moderate-severity stands and assessed whether tree growth differed among fire severity classes during the 5 years postfire. We

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... bserved no differences in basal area increment (BAI) 10 years prefireamong fire severities with BAI averaging 9.6 cm2 per year. Despite severe drought conditions, BAI in moderate severity sites 2 years postfire was 58% greater than in unburned and low-severity stands. Although significant, this growth increase was short-lived. Three, 4, and 5 yearspostfire, no differences in growth among unburned, low-severity, and moderate-severity sites were detected, as BAI averaged 8.3, 7.5, and 7.0 cm2, respectively. The lack of a consistent and prolonged growth response suggests that the Jasper Fire did not result in any short-termchanges in growth patterns. Data extending beyond 5 years postfire are required to infer potential long-term changes in tree growth and productivity.