Vegetation Recovery After Wildfire in the Jos Plateau: A Post-Burn Assessment in Plateau State

Recurrent wildfires on the Jos Plateau in north-central Nigeria significantly affect montane grassland and forest mosaic ecosystems, yet the vegetation recovery trajectories following fire events are poorly characterised, limiting adaptive fire management planning. This study assesses vegetation recovery dynamics in burned areas of the Jos Plateau, Plateau State, at three post-fire intervals: six months, twelve months, and twenty-four months. Paired burned and unburned control plots were established at fifteen sites with documented fire history. Species richness, canopy cover, grass biomass, and seedling regeneration were measured at each plot using standard phytosociological methods. Remote sensing analysis using Sentinel-2 imagery complemented field data by tracking Normalised Difference Vegetation Index recovery trajectories across the broader landscape. Results demonstrate rapid initial grass recovery within six months but slower woody plant regeneration, with tree and shrub density still significantly below control plots at twenty-four months. Resprouter species dominated early recovery, while obligate seeders showed limited recruitment in frequently burned sites. Sites with previous fire intervals shorter than three years exhibited significantly suppressed recovery rates. The study proposes a minimum three-year fire-free interval policy for montane vegetation blocks and recommends community-managed firebreak maintenance as a cost-effective preventive measure. Keywords: wildfire, vegetation recovery, Jos Plateau, savanna ecology, fire management