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We need large and widespread forest fires to combat the beetles and rejuvenate these biomes. There's a reason the beetle epidemic coincides with expansive huma
by wavefunction 10y ago
We need large and widespread forest fires to combat the beetles and rejuvenate these biomes. There's a reason the beetle epidemic coincides with expansive human habitation of the West and poorly considered forestry policies.
- JustSomeNobody 10y agoDoesn't California burn every other year on its own?
- wavefunction 10y agoI think you'll find most of the fires of the recent past are human-initiated.
- rabboRubble 10y agoMontana has had the major fires in and around the park system. The trees that are left are still heavily affected by beetle blight.
- wavefunction 10y agoOf course they are. The fires burn the trees with the beetles, and the fires also clear dense forest leaving meadows that the beetles won't traverse.
- rabboRubble 10y agoThe fires in question weren't from recent years. These lands and tree regrowth are in the burn areas from the late 1980's and 1990's. The types of pines that burned in Montana require fire to procreate; fire causes the cones to open spreading seeds. No fire no new trees. There are no meadows after burn. After 10-20 years, you have dense thin tree regrowth. The beetles do great there. Link to tree type: http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/lodgepole-pine-trees-love-forest-fires/ http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/lodgepole-pin...