Given the importance of understanding health outcomes at fine spatial scales, iterative proportional fitting (IPF), a form of small area estimation, was applied to a fixed number of health-related variables (obesity, overweight, diabetes) taken from regionalized 2019 survey responses (n = 5474) from the Idaho Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Using associated county-level American Community Survey (ACS) census data, a set of constraints, which included age categorization, race, sex, and education level, were used to create county-level weighting matrices for each variable, for each of the seven (7) Idaho public health districts. Using an optimized modeling construction technique, we identified significant constraints and grouping splits for each variable/region, resulting in estimates that were internally and externally validated. Externally validated model results for the most populated counties showed correlations ranging from .79 to .85, with p values all below .05. Estimates indicated higher levels of obesity and overweight individuals for midsouth and southwestern Idaho counties, with a cluster of higher diabetes estimates in the center of the state (Gooding, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Jerome counties). Alternative external sources for health outcomes aligned extremely well with our estimates, with wider confidence intervals in more rural counties with sparse populations.
OBJECTIVES:COVID-19 has been at the forefront of global concern since its emergence in December of 2019. Determining the social factors that drive case incidence is paramount to mitigating disease spread. We gathered data from the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) along with Democratic voting percentage to attempt to understand which county-level sociodemographic metrics had a significant correlation with case rate for COVID-19. METHODS:We used elastic net regression due to issues with variable collinearity and model overfitting. Our modelling framework included using the ten Health and Human Services regions as submodels for the two time periods 22 March 2020 to 15 June 2021 (prior to the Delta time period) and 15 June 2021 to 1 November 2021 (the Delta time period). RESULTS:Statistically, elastic net improved prediction when compared to multiple regression, as almost every HHS model consistently had a lower root mean square error (RMSE) and satisfactory R2 coefficients. These analyses show that the percentage of minorities, disabled individuals, individuals living in group quarters, and individuals who voted Democratic correlated significantly with COVID-19 attack rate as determined by Variable Importance Plots (VIPs). CONCLUSIONS:The percentage of minorities per county correlated positively with cases in the earlier time period and negatively in the later time period, which complements previous research. In contrast, higher percentages of disabled individuals per county correlated negatively in the earlier time period. Counties with an above average percentage of group quarters experienced a high attack rate early which then diminished in significance after the primary vaccine rollout. Higher Democratic voting consistently correlated negatively with cases, coinciding with previous findings regarding a partisan divide in COVID-19 cases at the county level. Our findings can assist regional policymakers in distributing resources to more vulnerable counties in future pandemics based on SVI.
The identification of volatile pheromones attractive to and produced by many species within the family Cerambycidae (Coleoptera) has spurred development of synthetic pheromone lures that can be used to assess cerambycid populations and to monitor for invasive and rare species. We applied this method of trapping to examine cerambycid attraction to pheromone compounds and to initiate an analysis of the cerambycid communities within western Idaho, United States of America. A total of 8195 cerambycids, representing 67 species, 17 tribes, and 42 genera within six subfamilies of the Cerambycidae, were captured. Thirteen volatile pheromone lures were tested over three years, and a significant treatment effect was detected for nine cerambycid species. No significant differences were found among sites for species richness, diversity, or evenness. No significant differences were found among lures for species richness or diversity, but a significant difference was detected among lures for species evenness. We propose a method for designing a multicomponent lure, based on data from the target region, to maximise the number of species captured and to target specific cerambycid species within a targeted region.
Pheromone parsimony is widespread within the longhorned beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), which share a number of highly conserved volatile pheromone motifs. This parsimony reflects their life histories, ecology, and distribution. We conducted field bioassays testing attraction of cerambycids to 12 volatile pheromone lures at sites in both northern and southern Idaho over a period of three years. Our overall goals were to investigate the role of volatile pheromones in the geographic distribution of cerambycid species, interactions within cerambycid communities in reproductive isolation, and to identify attractive pheromones that can be used to develop lures for monitoring cerambycids. This study focused on the genus Tragosoma (subfamily: Prioninae). Trapping results suggested a regional split between populations of T. harrisii LeConte and T. soror Laplante within Idaho, with the more abundant of the two species at our sites being T. harrisii in northern Idaho and T. soror in southern Idaho. We found the flight periods of T. harrisii and T. soror overlapped, suggesting that flight period is not being used by these two species as a mechanism to prevent inter-specific cross-attraction among their populations in Idaho. Our results increase understanding of the ecology of Tragosoma species, and the role of pheromones and flight period phenology in maintaining reproductive isolation, and will aid in development of lures for monitoring cerambycids.
Research over the last 15 yr has shown widespread pheromone parsimony within the coleopteran family Cerambycidae, with a number of highly conserved pheromone motifs, often shared within and across subfamilies, tribes, and genera. Our goals were to increase our understanding of the evolution of volatile pheromones within the Cerambycidae, their role in reproductive isolation and to identify pheromones for use in the development of lures for monitoring cerambycids. Over 3 yr, we tested 12 compounds known to be cerambycid pheromones as possible attractants at sites across Idaho. This study focused on species within the cerambycine genus Phymatodes (Tribe: Callidiini). We also collected and analyzed headspace volatiles of captured Phymatodes dimidiatus (Kirby). Our results demonstrate that (R)-2-methylbutan-1-ol is a male-produced volatile pheromone for P. dimidiatus. These results are consistent with prior research suggesting that (R)-2-methylbutan-1-ol and (R)-3-hydroxyhexan-2-one, individually or in a blend of both compounds, commonly serve as pheromones for Phymatodes spp. We captured Phymatodes starting in mid-May, continuing through mid-August. Our data indicate that flight periods of Phymatodes spp. in Idaho overlap. These species may be utilizing various mechanisms to ensure reproductive isolation, such as the production of different volatile pheromones, minor components, and/or proportions of components, utilizing different host species and/or host volatiles, differing daily activity periods, and/or occupying different heights in the tree canopy. Our results contribute to the basic understanding of the chemical and behavioral ecology of the Cerambycidae and can be applied to the development of pheromone lures for monitoring of economically important or endangered species.
For decades hormone therapy (HT) has been prescribed to treat the symptoms of menopause, such as vaginal dryness, itching and burning. Here we sought to compare the vaginal microbiomes of postmenopausal women who received low dose estrogen therapy to those of premenopausal and postmenopausal women, and to do so in conjunction with assessing the alleviation of symptoms associated with vaginal atrophy. In this study vaginal swab samples were obtained from 45 women who were classified as either premenopausal, postmenopausal, or postmenopausal and undergoing HT. The vaginal microbiomes of these women were characterized by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and bacterial abundances were quantified by qPCR. We found that the vaginal communities from our cohort could be divided into six clusters (A-F) based on differences in the composition and relative abundances of bacterial taxa. Communities in cluster A were dominated by Lactobacillus crispatus, and those of cluster B were dominated by Gardnerella vaginalis. Communities in cluster C had high proportions of L. iners, while those in cluster D were more even and included several co-dominant taxa. Communities in clusters E and F were dominated by Bifidobacterium and L. gasseri, respectively. The vaginal communities of most postmenopausal women receiving HT (10/15) were dominated by species of lactobacilli and belonged to clusters A, C, and F (P < 0.001). This sharply contrasts with vaginal communities of postmenopausal women without HT, most of which (10/15) were in cluster D, depleted of lactobacilli, and had about 10-fold fewer total bacteria (P < 0.05). The vaginal communities of women in each study group differed in terms of the dominant bacterial species composition and relative abundance. Those of postmenopausal women receiving HT significantly differed from those of postmenopausal women without HT and were most often dominated by species of Lactobacillus. Noteworthy, HT greatly improved vaginal atrophy scores, decreased vaginal pH, and significantly increased bacterial numbers in comparison to postmenopausal women not receiving HT.
The objective of this research is to examine the effects of general educational development (GED) attainment in prison and therapeutic community participation on postrelease employment and earnings. The participants are all males released from prisons in Idaho during 2004. The dependent variables are employment and mean quarterly earnings up to 57 months after release. Propensity score matching analysis was used to enhance the equivalence of the comparison groups, with a small percentage of overly influential observations trimmed. Logistic regression was used to examine the effects of programming on employment. GED had no effect on employment. The effect of therapeutic community approached significance. The statistical analyses on earnings used generalized linear models based on the gamma distribution due to the highly skewed distribution of this variable. These analyses found that GED had no effect on earnings and that participation in a therapeutic community had a highly significant effect on mean quarterly earnings.
Extended aging increases browning and decreases redness in fresh beef. The goal of this study was to test an already proven combination of antioxidants (0.05% ascorbic acid + 0.1% rosemary extract) using a method that could be applied at the retail level to simply and effectively extend the shelf-life of extended aged beef. The specific objective was to analyze the effect of topical application of ascorbic acid and rosemary extract on color, lipid oxidation, microbial growth, and sensory perception of beef longissimus lumborum (LL; n = 12) and semimembranosus (SM; n = 12) muscles wet aged at 0°C for 14, 28, and 42 (extended aging period) days. After aging, steaks were cut, sprayed with 2 mL of a 0.05% ascorbic acid + 0.1% rosemary extract solution (treated) or untreated (control), and subjected to retail display. Antioxidant treated LL steaks had greater (P < 0.05) L* (lightness) values, but lower (P < 0.05) a* (redness) and b* (yellowness) values than control steaks. Furthermore, antioxidant treatment decreased (P < 0.05) browning on d 4 of retail display compared to control steaks. Consumers scored antioxidant treated SM steaks as less tender on d 28, more juicy on d 14 but less juicy on d 18 and 42. Antioxidant treatment did not affect lipid oxidation, microbial growth, or sensory flavor scores. As expected, longer aging periods resulted in less color stability of LL and SM steaks. Although the antioxidant treatment resulted in measurable subjective color improvements, these improvements are likely not detectable by the consumer.
Optimal metabolic trade-offs between growth and productivity are key constraints in strain optimization by metabolic engineering; however, how cellular noise impacts these trade-offs and drives the emergence of subpopulations with distinct resource allocation strategies, remains largely unknown. Here, we introduce a single-cell strategy for quantifying the trade-offs between triacylglycerol production and growth in the oleaginous microorganism Yarrowia lipolytica. The strategy relies on high-throughput quantitative-phase imaging and, enabled by nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry analyses and dedicated image processing, allows us to image how resources are partitioned between growth and productivity. Enhanced precision over population-averaging biotechnologies and conventional microscopy demonstrates how cellular noise impacts growth and productivity differently. As such, subpopulations with distinct metabolic trade-offs emerge, with notable impacts on strain performance and robustness. By quantifying the self-degradation of cytosolic macromolecules under nutrient-limiting conditions, we discover the cell-to-cell heterogeneity in protein and fatty-acid recycling, unmasking a potential bet-hedging strategy under starvation.
Our objectives were to determine the effect of post rigor calcium chloride injection or freezing on 1) sarcoplasmic calcium concentration and calpain-2 activity of beef longissimus lumborum (LL) and semimembranosus (SM) steaks aged 1, 4, and 14days post-treatment and on 2) Warner-Bratzler shear force, water holding capacity, and consumer acceptability of LL and SM steaks aged 4 and 14days post-treatment. Free calcium levels in the calcium, frozen, and control steaks averaged 1256, 127, and 121μM for the LL and 1520, 120, and 111μM for the SM, respectively. Measurable LL native calpain-2 activity was lower in calcium and frozen steaks than control steaks (P<0.01), while SM native calpain-2 activity was lowest in calcium steaks and intermediate in frozen steaks (P<0.01). LL calcium steaks were more tender (P=0.04) than control steaks. In conclusion, calcium chloride injection and freezing activate calpain-2 earlier postmortem in both muscles and calcium injection improves LL tenderness.
Woody plant cover has increased 10-fold over the last 140+ years in many parts of the semi-arid western USA. Woody plant cover can alter the timing and amount of plant available moisture in the soil and saprolite. To assess spatiotemporal subsurface moisture dynamics over two water years in a snow dominated western juniper stand we compared moisture dynamics horizontally across a discontinuous canopy, and vertically in soil and saprolite. We monitored soil moisture at 15 and 60 cm and conducted periodic electromagnetic induction and electrical resistivity tomography surveys aimed at sensing moisture changes within the root zone and saprolite. Timing of soil moisture dry down at 15 cm was very similar between canopy patches and interspace. Conversely, dry down at 60 cm occurred 22 days earlier in the interspace than under canopy patches. After rainfall, interspaces with more shrubs showed greater increases in soil moisture than interspaces with few shrubs. For the few rainfall events that were large enough to increase soil moisture at 60 cm, increases in moisture occurred almost exclusively below the canopy. Soil water holding capacity from 0 to 150 cm was a primary driver of areas that were associated with the greatest change in distributed electrical conductivity- an indicator of changes in soil moisture- across the growing season. Vegetation was also correlated with a greater seasonal change in electrical conductivity at these depths. The seasonal change in resistivity suggested moisture extraction by juniper well into the saprolite, as deep as 12 m below the surface. This change in deep subsurface resistivity primarily occurred below medium and large juniper trees. This study suggests how tree roots are both increasing infiltration below their canopy while also extracting moisture at depths of upwards of 12 m. Information from this study can help improve our understanding of juniper resilience to drought and the hydrologic impacts of semi-arid land cover change. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Background: This investigation sought to determine how accelerometer wear (1) biased estimates of sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA), (2) affected misclassifications for meeting the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, and (3) impacted the results of regression models examining the association between moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and a clinically relevant health outcome. Methods: A total of 100 participants [age: 20.6 (7.9) y] wore an ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometer for 15.9 (1.6) hours per day (reference dataset) on the hip. The BOD POD was used to determine body fat percentage. A data removal technique was applied to the reference dataset to create individual datasets with wear time ranging from 15 to 10 hours per day for SB and each intensity of PA. Results: Underestimations of SB and each intensity of PA increased as accelerometer wear time decreased by up to 167.2 minutes per day. These underestimations resulted in Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans misclassification rates of up to 42.9%. The regression models for the association between MVPA and body fat percentage demonstrated changes in the estimates for each wear-time adherence level when compared to the model using the reference MVPA data. Conclusions: Increasing accelerometer wear improves daily estimates of SB and PA, thereby also improving the precision of statistical inferences that are made from accelerometer data.
PURPOSE: Missing data may contribute to inaccuracies in determining if study participants are meeting physical activity recommendations. The purpose was to determine how accelerometer wear time adherence effects estimates of sedentary behavior and physical activity. METHODS: One-hundred participants (age=25.5±7.9 yrs) wore Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometers for 23.3±1.0 hrs/d, totaling 697 days (RAW). A technique to remove data was used to simulate lower adherence. First, times identified as sleep were removed by inserting missing values. Then, 60 minute blocks of waking time were randomly removed for each participant by inserting missing values, until participants had data for 17 through 10 hrs of wear time. This technique simulates how sleeping times and non-wear during waking times may be treated in practice. For each participant, sedentary (SED) time was defined as <150 cpm, light physical activity (LPA) was defined as 150-2,689 cpm, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was defined as ≥2,690 cpm. Estimates for SED, LPA, and MVPA were compared to RAW for the 10 and 17 h adherence levels using paired t-tests. Linear regression was used to compare the prediction of RAW sedentary behavior and physical activity for 10 and 17 h estimates. RESULTS: The estimates for LPA at 10 h adherence significantly underestimated RAW LPA by 175.5±46.2 min/d (p<.01). As adherence increased to 17 h, estimates for LPA improved (39.7±14.0 min/d; p<.01). MVPA was underestimated by 28.4±14.6 min/d (p<.01) at 10 h compared to 1.5±2.0 min/d (p<.01) at 17 h. The prediction of RAW from the estimates of LPA at 10 h (β=1.66, R2=0.86) improved as adherence increased to 17 h (β=1.02, R2=0.97). Prediction of MVPA at 10 h (β=1.44, R2=0.85) of wear time improved as adherence increased to 17 h (β=1.01, R2=0.99). SED was significantly underestimated by 609.8±54.4 min/d (p<.01) at 10 h of wear time compared to 450.4±48.6 min/d (p<.01) with 17 h of time. Prediction of SED did not improve as adherence increased from 10 (β=1.60, R2=0.85) to 17 h (β=1.01, R2=0.77). CONCLUSIONS: Researchers should improve adherence to more correctly identify if study participants are meeting physical activity recommendations. Future efforts are needed to improve the accuracy of estimation with imputation techniques that account for lower accelerometer adherence.
Atrophic vaginitis (AV) is common in postmenopausal women, but its causes are not well understood. The symptoms, which include vaginal itching, burning, dryness, irritation, and dyspareunia, can usually be alleviated by low doses of estrogen given orally or locally. Regrettably, the composition of vaginal bacterial communities in women with AV have not been fully characterized and little is known as to how these communities change over time in response to hormonal therapy. In the present intervention study we determined the response of vaginal bacterial communities in postmenopausal women with AV to low-dose estrogen therapy. The changes in community composition in response to hormonal therapy were rapid and typified by significant increases in the relative abundance of Lactobacillus spp. that were mirrored by a decreased relative abundance of Gardnerella . These changes were paralleled by a significant four-fold increase in serum estradiol levels and decreased vaginal pH, as well as nearly a two-fold increase in the Vaginal Maturation Index (VMI). The results suggest that after menopause a vaginal microbiota dominated by species of Lactobacillus may have a beneficial role in the maintenance of health and these findings that could lead to new strategies to protect postmenopausal women from AV.
Food availability is one of the most important factors influencing reproduction in mammals. Reproductive success of some species can be negatively affected when body reserves are depleted during long periods of adverse weather conditions. We investigated the relationship of forage availability and weather variables on reproduction by black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) and the effects of black-tailed prairie dog reproduction on reproduction by black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes), a prairie dog specialist predator. Prairie dogs draw on stored energy reserves to support reproduction (i.e., capital breeding), while ferrets likely rely on availability of prey during the reproductive period (i.e., income breeding). We expected that productivity of prairie dogs would positively correlate with precipitation during the previous summer and availability of spring forage and that harsh winter conditions would negatively affect reproduction. We also expected that productivity of ferrets would be positively correlated with productivity of prairie dogs because of the net increase in available prey during the ferret's litter-rearing season and because female ferrets might selectively prey on juvenile prairie dogs. At 2 sites in South Dakota during 2008-2010, reproduction by prairie dogs was most strongly influenced by precipitation received during the previous year and especially by winter severity. Harsh winter conditions resulted in a marked decline in reproduction during 2010. Although reproduction by ferrets varied little across years of our study, the success of long-term conservation and reintroduction strategies for the endangered black-footed ferret could be influenced by climate-driven changes in prairie dog reproduction.
Interactions between intraguild species that act as both competitors and predator-prey can be especially complex. We studied patterns of space use by the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes), a prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) specialist, and the American badger (Taxidea taxus), a larger generalist carnivore that competes for prairie dogs and is known to kill ferrets. We expected that ferrets would spatially avoid badgers because of the risk of predation, that these patterns of avoidance might differ between sexes and age classes, and that the availability of food and space might influence these relationships. We used location data from 60 ferrets and 15 badgers to model the influence of extrinsic factors (prairie dog density and colony size) and intrinsic factors (sex, age) on patterns of space use by ferrets in relation to space use by different sex and age categories of badgers. We documented asymmetric patterns of avoidance of badgers by ferrets based on the sex of both species. Female ferrets avoided adult female badgers, but not male badgers, and male ferrets exhibited less avoidance than female ferrets. Additionally, avoidance decreased with increasing densities of prairie dogs. We suggest that intersexual differences in space use by badgers create varying distributions of predation risk that are perceived by the smaller carnivore (ferrets) and that females respond more sensitively than males to that risk. This work advances understanding about how competing species coexist and suggests that including information on both intrinsic and extrinsic factors might improve our understanding of behavioral interactions between sympatric species.
This paper reports the findings from a study aimed at examining the effectiveness of shoulder rumble strips in reducing run-off-the-road (ROR) crashes on two-lane rural highways using the empirical Bayes (EB) before-and-after analysis method. Specifically, the study analyzed the effects of traffic volume, roadway geometry and paved right shoulder width on the effectiveness of shoulder rumble strips. The results of this study demonstrate the safety benefits of shoulder rumble strips in reducing the ROR crashes on two-lane rural highways using the state of Idaho 2001-2009 crash data. This study revealed a 14% reduction in all ROR crashes after the installation of shoulder rumble strips on 178.63miles of two-lane rural highways in Idaho. The results indicate that shoulder rumble strips were most effective on roads with relatively moderate curvature and right paved shoulder width of 3 feet and more.
PURPOSE: To investigate the influence of low accelerometer adherence on the prediction of physical activity, and the subsequent application of the data. METHODS: One-hundred participants (age= 25.5±7.9 yrs; BMI= 24.8±3.2 kg/m2; body fat= 21.7±8.9 %) wore Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometers 24 hrs/d for 7 consecutive days (raw). Height, weight, and body composition (BodPod) were also measured over the 7 day study period. Low accelerometer adherence (10 HR; 10.4 ±0.5 hrs/d) was simulated by imputing zero counts for sleep times, then randomly imputing blocks of 60 minutes of zero counts during waking hours until each participant had 10 h of data. Sedentary time was defined as <150 cpm, light physical activity (LPA) was defined as 150-2,689 cpm, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was defined as ≥2,690 cpm. One-way ANOVA with Tukey post-hoc adjustment was used to analyze the differences between raw and 10 HR. Linear regression was then used to investigate the relationships between physical activity and body composition (BMI and % body fat) for raw and 10 HR. Absolute percent error (APE) was also calculated to compare raw and 10 HR. RESULTS: Sedentary time (935.0±101.3 min/d) for raw was significantly lower (p<.0001) than 10 HR (1,138.9±56.3 min/d), with an APE of 23.3%. Raw LPA (429.5±88.1 min/d), MVPA (75.4±30.3 min/d), and total physical activity (520.3±139.9 cpm) were all significantly higher (p<.0001) than 10 HR (254.1±49.2, 47.0±19.2, and 318.5±84.2 cpm, respectively). APE for the differences in LPA, MVPA, and total physical activity were 40.7, 36.6, and 38.4%, respectively. Time spent in MVPA was significantly associated with %body fat for 10 HR (ß=-.092; p<.048), but not for raw (ß=-.050; p<.091). The prediction of %body fat was not different between data sets for sedentary or LPA. The prediction of BMI using 10 HR consistently resulted in higher residuals and p-values than raw for all levels of activity. CONCLUSIONS: The use of low adherence datasets consistently resulted in profound amounts of measurement error when compared to “true” physical activity, as measured by 24 hr/d. In addition, the subsequent use of low adherence data could potentially impact the prediction of health markers, including the presence of Type 1 errors.
As the size and extent of wildfires has increased in recent decades, so has the cost and extent of post-fire management, including seeding and salvage logging. However, we know little about how burn severity, salvage logging, and post-fire seeding interact to influence vegetation recovery long-term. We sampled understory plant species richness, diversity, and canopy cover one to six years post fire (2006 to 2009, and 2011) on 72 permanent plots selected in a stratified random sample to define post-fire vegetation response to burn severity, post-fire seeding with native grasses, and salvage logging on the 2005 School Fire in eastern Washington. Understory vegetation responded rapidly post fire due, in part, to ample low intensity rainfall events in the first post-fire growing season. Vegetation was more diverse with greater plant species richness and diversity (Shannon-Wiener index) in low and moderate burn severity plots in 2006 (species richness 18; diversity 2.3) compared to high burn severity plots (species richness 10; diversity 1.8), with species richness on the high severity plots reaching 19 in the sixth post-fire year, similar to the initial values on the low and moderate burn severity plots. Plants that commonly resprout from rhizomes, bulbs, and other surviving belowground sources were abundant post fire, while those establishing from off-site seed sources, including non-native species, were present but not abundant. Plots seeded with native grass post fire and not salvage logged had the highest canopy cover of graminoid species: more than 30 % six years after the fire (in 2011), with low forb (15 %) and shrub (1 %) canopy cover and species richness. For comparison, high severity plots that were not seeded and not salvage logged had 3 % graminoid cover, 14 % forb cover, and 26 % shrub cover. Plots that had been salvage logged from one to three years after the fire produced less canopy cover of shrubs and forbs, but three times more canopy cover of graminoids on the high burn severity plots by 2011. High severity plots that were salvage logged and not seeded with native grasses had the lowest species richness, diversity, and cover. Very few non-native species were found, regardless of salvage logging and seeding. Rapid post-fire growth dominated by native plants of high diversity suggests that this forest’s vegetation and soils are highly resilient to disturbance. Overall, burn severity and post-fire seeding with native grasses were more influential than salvage logging on understory plant abundance one to six years after fire.