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After summer fires, BWCAW forest recovery underway
Scientists say moss, liverworts and young trees are already returning, suggesting the burned wilderness is rebounding quickly.
- In mid-September, less than two months after the Sioux Fire tore through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness entry point to the Little Sioux Indian River, forest regeneration was well underway with knee-high aspen suckers, maple saplings and wildflowers.
- Sparked by lightning on July 6, the Sioux Fire grew slowly before June 13 temperatures reached 100 degrees; windy conditions created "a recipe for fire growth," said Superior National Forest acting forest supervisor Drew Stroberg.
- Soil scientist Jeff Kroll observed moss and liverworts stabilizing ashen soil, while longhorn beetles accelerated decomposition and returned minerals to the forest floor, said National Forest wilderness and recreation program manager Carl Skustad.
- Disturbances like wildfires help create a healthy, resilient forest across the landscape, said Lane Johnson, research coordinator and forester at the University of Minnesota's Cloquet Forestry Center; this year the Boundary Waters saw restoration of that patchwork mosaic.
- University of Minnesota forest history expert Miron "Bud" Heinselman documented the region burning for centuries; Johnson remains confident a new, diverse forest will emerge despite warming climates potentially shifting boreal forests to hardwoods, stating, "There is resilience in these systems.
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Perham Focus+14 Reposted by 14 other sources
After summer fires, BWCAW forest recovery underway
Researchers and forest officials say the recent wildfires will help rejuvenate the fire-dependent ecosystem. New life was already sprouting out of the ashen forest floor in September.
·Cloquet, United States
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Total News Sources15
Leaning Left0Leaning Right6Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution54% Center
Bias Distribution
- 54% of the sources are Center
54% Center
C 54%
R 46%
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