The boreal forest has evolved for fire. Many of its tree species need it to germinate
Normally, fires don’t come around more often than every 30 years and often much longer. The lack of fuel in recently burned stands helps regulate that frequency.“We’re experiencing more hot, dry windy days – the main trigger for large fire years. As more years experience more extreme fire weather, are able to overwhelm that resistance that recently burned sites have.”
Nor are the parkland-like areas likely to evolve into a conventional boreal forest. Previous studies have found that the look of a forest is set early after a fire. “Immediate post-fire condition is an extremely strong predictor of what the stand will look like further down the road,” said Whitman. Whitman emphasizes that short-interval stands in her research are still small and most stretches of boreal forest burned in recent wildfires are regrowing normally. Wetlands are also less affected by short-interval fires than drier regions.She said the forestry industry is unlikely to be affected any time soon – although forest-dependent animals such as caribou and songbirds will feel impacts.
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