GGR227H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Jack Pine, Wildfire Suppression, Secondary Succession
Document Summary
Certain species need fire to initiate cone opening and regeneration (e. g. jack pine a dominant boreal tree) Releases nutrients in biomass (litter, dead trees, that would otherwise take a much longer time to decompose etc. ) to soil for seedlings to regrow. Allows patches of secondary succession and can enhance regional biodiversity. Fires destroy valuable timber, hurt tourism, and of course can put people and homes at risk. Historically we used to try to put out/suppress many forest fires. Fire suppression leads to a buildup of fuel as dead litter on the forest floor and soil organic matter. Less frequent, but more severe! (and hard to control if we have to, e. g. , near a town see ft. mcmurray fires in 2016 and bc in 2017!) Clear cutting to eliminate pest and disease spread. Forestry management utilizes clear cutting to manage the spread of fires. Fire breaks are a crucial tool for slowing the spread of pests such as mountain pine beetle.
