Fire in Yellowstone Flashcards
Learn about important fire events and the role of fire in the Yellowstone Ecosystem
When did the trees in the Tetons burn?
2016: the Maple Fire. 2016 was the biggest fire year since 1988.
When did the trees burn along the Lake toward Fishing Bridge?
2009: Arnica Fire. Can see young lodgepoles coming in now.
What’s good about fire?
Veg has adapted to fire, depends on it in some cases. Promotes habitat diversity. Fire breaks up uniform canopy: more sun, plants, food, and shelter for animals.
How much of the park burned in 2016?
70,285 acres.
How much of the park burned in 1988?
800,000 acres, or about 36%.
Fire impacts on bears
Grazed more frequently at burned sites, esp on clover and fireweed. Reduced whitebark pine, but grizzly numbers stayed same.
Whitebark pine fire challenges
Seed caches made by red squirrels and Clark’s nutcrackers give advantage after burn. But needs 60 years before full cone production. Not good in short fire interval or if other conifers overtake.
Why do plants grow so well after a fire in Yellowstone?
Root systems intact, fire releases nutrients from wood and forests litter, inch-thick moss may have also held moisture in 1988.
Animals that lost in the 1988 fires
Moose (less canopy = deep snow; less fav foods such as willow and subalpine fir), boreal owls (need mature forest), rodents (highest mortality, but quickly repopulated)
Besides lodgepole, what other trees have serotinous cones?
Table Mt Pine (S. Appalachians), jack pine (Lake States and Canada), giant sequoia (California)
Where and when was fire completely excluded in the past?
Doug fir, sagebrush steppe, and aspen communities on northern range from 1886-1987.
How many fires burned in Yellowstone in 1988 and how were they started?
42 lightning-caused, 9 human-caused
How many animals died in the 1988 fires?
~300 large mammals: 246 elk, 9 bison, 4 mule deer, 2 moose
How much money and how many people were involved in the 1988 fires?
$120 million and 10,000 people
