Re: Reforestation Volunteering
Ecologically, most environments are quite capable of regeneration after a fire - technical term is fire 'succession'. A number of different conifer and evergreen type trees have 2 types of seeds - the normal ones that are dropped and sprout yearly, and a second type that have protective coating (often wax based) that protects the seeds for many years when on the ground, and the seed only sprouts when the wax is 'melted off' by heat (fire). The wax also protects the seed from the fire. Of course, the combination of human fire suppression, increased kindling from beetle kill and suppression, increased aridity - whether due to long term natural drought, human water usage, climate change etc - all combine to create fires that can be significantly hotter than the typical wildfire was hundreds or thousands of years ago, and some of nature's fire succession methods (such as some of the wax coated seeds) struggle to function as the wax is melted off and the seed completely destroyed (not enough wax insulation). None of the current fires in Colo have been described as being extremely hot (in terms of wildfire comparison), so hopefully succession will occur relatively easily. Of course, it does seem the Troublesome fire may be the hottest fire to date this year, and its location to the west of RMNP in a beetle kill area may be a big contributing factor. It is possible it could be environmentally more impactful than the Cameron Peak fire, despite the differences in affected acreage due to differences in burn temperature....
___________
James Orofino
1970 CJ5
1958 Willys Wagon