Describe the seral stages of succesion that would occur after the fire

The seeds of the lodgepole pine are protected in a resin sealed cone. Intense heat is required to open the cones and release the seeds. As well, the germinating seeds take root better in disturbed soil. Both of these conditions are  usually best produced by a fire that reduces the duff or litter layer, exposing the mineral soil, and opening the cone. Large openings in the forest caused by fire provide the warmth and sunlight needed to grow a mature lodgepole pine tree.Ecologists and fire managers now realize fire plays an important role in the rejuvenation process that keeps forests like ours healthy. The predominant lodgepole pine forest needs regeneration to help control insects, as well as tree rot and other disease. Trees affected by these processes can blow down in high winds, creating a potential danger for people and facilities. Forest fire is a natural way to help regenerate and restore a healthy vibrant forest ecosystem.

Different plants have different tolerances to wildfires. Those that live in areas where fires occur on a regular basis (say every 7-10 years) the native plants have adapted to the fires. Trees may produce a thicker bark, for example, so the heat from the fire doesn't do as much damage internally as it would to a thin-barked tree. In a grassland setting, the grasses may be annuals which reproduce from seeds, or they may be perennials that grow from an underground rhizome where the rhizome is protected by the soil above it.

So in the first example, a fire may cause enough damage to kill or weaken the trees with thin bark which aren't adapted to fires, so it can change the species composition of the forest. In the seconds example of the grassland, fire may help to maintain the type of ecosystem by killing seedling trees that could eventually overtop the grasses, shading them so they wouldn't survive under the trees.

By knowing which species are present, and how they respond to fires, foresters and land managers can decide if using fire can help to maintain a type of ecosystem/habitat, and if it could be used to control invasive/unwanted plant species.