three things determine the behavior of a fire: fuel,
weather, topography
fuel -
undergrowth
weather - dry, wet, windy, etc.
topography - the physical features of the land--hilly, flat, rivers,
etc.
fire kills the low growth and cleanses the earth providing opportunity
for
larger fire resistant trees to grow
fire kills diseases and insects
and can return nutrients to the earth
the two sides to fire are:
Controlled
Uncontrolled
-prescribed burn
-wild fire
-cool burn
-hot burn
-kills: undergrowth, disease & insects
-often goes to crown fire,
killing all
-fairly quick to return to health
-may cause erosion
-can take decades for a healthy
forest to return
consistent, on-going change is essential to a healthy
ecosystem that will
allow a sustainable forest to grow
today’s
forests are vulnerable due to our past prevention of
fires thus allowing the undergrowth to become dense and overcrowding
to occur.
undergrowth = fuel for fire
fire, in the right condition, can do good
things. For example, some trees
are fire-dependent and require heat to open their
cones to release the
seed.
possible solutions to fire:
1) let nature take over
2) manage the forest by:
- prescribed burning
- salvaging dead and dying trees plus thinning
homes in
nature are beautiful but can become dangerous in
an untended forest as wild fires may occur; heat + fuel + oxygen
-----> fire
may result
trees compete for sunlight, water and soil nutrients
we enjoy forests for:
wood products, nature, beauty
