Data for: Sparse subalpine forest recovery pathways, plant communities, and carbon stocks 34 years after stand-replacing fire (Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Wyoming, USA; 2022)

We assessed postfire forest recovery pathways, stem densities, understory plant communities, and carbon stocks across 55 plots in areas exhibiting sparse and reduced forest recovery 34 years after the 1988 Yellowstone Fires in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Wyoming, USA. Recovery pathways were identified using plot-level frequency distributions of tree ages and correlated with potentially important biotic and abiotic variables (e.g., elevation, seed source distance). Species- and age-specific stem densities were similarly regressed across environmental factors to determine variability in forest recovery across the sampled landscape. Understory plant communities were sampled in 0.25m-square quadrats and environmental drivers of individual species occurrence and whole compositional shifts were determined. Finally, carbon stock sizes were derived from field measures of tree characteristics, understory cover, and soil combined with regionally derived allometric equations. Data collection is complete and is part of a forthcoming manuscript at Ecological Monographs.