Why Fires In Yellowstone actually help the environment.
For thousands of years fires in Yellowstone have been a natural occurrence. The question many have is, "Why don't they stop these wildfires as soon as they start?"
Many of Yellowstone's plant species are fire-adapted. Some (not all) of the lodgepole pines (Pinus contorta), which make up nearly 80% of the park's extensive forests, have cones that are serotinous sealed by resin until the intense heat of fire cracks the bonds and releases the seeds inside. Fires may stimulate regeneration of sagebrush, aspen, and willows . . . Though above-ground parts of grasses and forbs are consumed by flames, the below-ground root systems typically remain unharmed, and for a few years after fire these plants commonly increase in productivity.
Info from NPS-YNP http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/wildlandfire.htm
For thousands of years fires in Yellowstone have been a natural occurrence. The question many have is, "Why don't they stop these wildfires as soon as they start?"
Many of Yellowstone's plant species are fire-adapted. Some (not all) of the lodgepole pines (Pinus contorta), which make up nearly 80% of the park's extensive forests, have cones that are serotinous sealed by resin until the intense heat of fire cracks the bonds and releases the seeds inside. Fires may stimulate regeneration of sagebrush, aspen, and willows . . . Though above-ground parts of grasses and forbs are consumed by flames, the below-ground root systems typically remain unharmed, and for a few years after fire these plants commonly increase in productivity.
Info from NPS-YNP http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/wildlandfire.htm
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