This article was written by Makala
Over this past summer, and the year before, and the past couple of summer's the skies of British
Columbia were filled with smoke. There were wildfires raging
through forests in many parts of the province.
What happens to the plants and animals after a wildfire
moves through a forest? That depends on what
happened during the fire.
You might be surprised to learn that in the past forest
fires were common in British Columbia. For thousands of
years, First Nations people set fires on purpose to burn forests. They set fires for many reasons, such
as clearing land, helping berries and medicine plants grow, and
growing grass for animals that people could hunt.
These fires were slow and kept under control, so many trees stayed alive after
the fires. With regular fires, the dead leaves and branches that fell to the ground
were burned before too much piled up.
Today, many forest fires are large and hot because controlled burns have not
happened as often. The layers of dead wood make the fires very hot. Very hot
fires kill more trees. They make the earth very hot too, which can burn organic
material and kill soil microorganisms, making it harder for plants to grow again
after a fire. That’s because soil bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms help
plants grow. They do this by breaking down nutrients so the
plants can use them.
If those soil microorganisms are able to do their job, plants will grow easily in
the new open, sunny areas that are present after a fire. Wildflowers, grasses,
mushrooms and berry bushes burst into life. Deer come to eat the grass and
bushes, and they enjoy the clearings that the fire has created.
Forest fires also help baby trees grow. For instance, the Lodgepole
Pine has cones that are sealed with resin - kind of like a forest glue.
The heat of fire actually helps their cones open and release seeds.
After the fire, the burned trees themselves can be
full of life. Small animals such as wood-boring
beetles come in to live, decompose wood, and lay
their eggs. This starts a whole new food chain as
birds such as the Three-toed Woodpecker come to
the trees to eat the beetles, their larvae and pupae.
They can live off these delicious tidbits for five to eight
years before they have to move on.
Forest fires change the land around us. For thousands
of years, people have tried to understand how to
work with fire and the changes that it brings to the
land. Today, we are learning from the ancestors how
to make fire work for us, not against us.
No comments:
Post a Comment