How prescribed burns could help forests withstand disease and heat

How prescribed burns could help forests withstand disease and heat
Sofia Jeremias
© Brian Melley, Associated Press
Firefighter Andrew Pettit walks among the flames during a prescribed fire in Cedar Grove at Kings Canyon National Park, Calif. on June 11, 2019. The prescribed burn, a low-intensity, closely managed fire, was intended to clear out undergrowth and protect the heart of Kings Canyon National Park from a future threatening wildfire.
The weather is warming, the ground is drying and all across the West two things are becoming evident as summer nears: there is not enough water and fire season could be brutal.
Out of control, high severity fires are becoming increasingly frequent and threaten forests in the West. Nearly 6% of forests in the Sierra Nevada are at risk of conversion — a process where grassland or invasive species take over previously forested land, and somewhere between 1.6%-15.1% are threatened in the Intermountain West according to a paper published in BioScience. Warming temperatures and the advent of “wildfire season” has meant transitioning landscapes and an uncertain future for the West’s forests.

Related Keywords

Montana ,United States ,Lick Creek ,University Of Montana ,Brian Melley ,Andrew Pettit ,Sharon Hood ,Kings Canyon National Park ,Firefighter Andrew Pettit ,Cedar Grove At Kings Canyon National Park ,Research Forest ,Us Forest Service ,Forest Service ,Bitterroot National Forest Of Montana ,Cedar Grove ,Associated Press Firefighter Andrew Pettit ,Sierra Nevada ,Intermountain West ,Bitterroot National Forest ,Global Change ,Lick Creek Demonstration Research ,Douglas Firs ,மஂட்யாந ,ஒன்றுபட்டது மாநிலங்களில் ,சுவைக்க க்ரீக் ,பல்கலைக்கழகம் ஆஃப் மஂட்யாந ,ஆண்ட்ரூ பெட்டிட் ,ஷரோன் ஹூட் ,கிண்ஸ் பள்ளத்தாக்கு தேசிய பூங்கா ,ஆராய்ச்சி காடு ,எங்களுக்கு காடு சேவை ,காடு சேவை ,சிடார் தோப்பு ,சியரா நெவாடா ,இன்டர்மவுண்டன் மேற்கு ,பிட்டர்ரூட் தேசிய காடு ,உலகளாவிய மாற்றம் ,டக்ளஸ் ஃபர்ஸ் ,