This shot looks like a raging fire heading toward a mature woodland...it isn't though. There is a fireline between the small trees and the mature woods behind them. The trees in the foreground are young loblolly pines, one of the first trees to invade a field during succession. Part of the goal of this particular burn is to maintain this field in a certain stage of succession -- one without loblolly pines. Since the pines aren't a fire tolerant species they will die off after a few years of successive burns.
5 comments:
Other than the name, what's wrong with these loblolly suckers?
Uh oh. I posted an actual question. Someone take my temp!
And here's an actual, partial answer: the loblolly pines grow in thick stands and shade out other species -- hence, little biodiversity. We like a lot of biodiversity.
What about all that survival of the fittest crap?
Obviously I am going to have to go into detail about the role of fire in the environment and the role that suppression of natural fires has played in the demise of species historically found in our region. Stayed tuned for a post in the possibly near future :)
Darn cliffhangers...
*kicks dirt*
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