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Signs! A
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Yellowstone
National Park - Forces of the Northern Range - The Forest That Needs
Fire
Location
of sign - on the Forces of the Northern Range Trail between Tower
Junction and Mammoth Hot Springs
in
Yellowstone National Park.
Photo
taken June 2008
Text
of sign:
The
Forest That Needs Fire
Yellowstone's
most common tree is the lodgepole pine. Miles and miles of these tall,
straight trees grow close together.
Lodgepole pine forests need fire to survive. It helps control disease
and insects, and fire is essential for a new generation of
lodgepole
pines to grow. When the forest canopy burns, the ash fertilizes the
soil. Sunlight can reach the ground. Seeds quickly
germinate
and begin to grow.
Too
Dark to Grow
Lodgepole
pines reproduce with two kinds of cones. One type matures in
two years, then opens to scatter its seeds. If the floor is
shaded
by other trees, the seeds seldom germinate.
The
Magic of Fire
The
other type of lodgepole pine cone is "serotinous."
Its seeds are tightly sealed inside the cone until heat from a fire
melts the
resin
that glues the cone shut. Then the cone bursts open to spread
its seeds.
Regeneration
of a Forest
November
1, 1988 - a few weeks after fire
Soil
is charred, but fertile
Lodgepole
pine cones release their seeds
Roots,
bulbs, and rhizomes survive underground
Burned
snags will fall, decompose, and add more nutrients to the soil
September
30, 1998 - ten years after fire
Young
trees are several feet high
Fertile
soil sustains a new forest
Remaining
snags will fall and decompose
This
exhibit made possible by a generous grant from the Yellowstone Association.
Graphics
on the sign
In
addition to the text there pictures of lodgepole pines showing the recovery
of the forest after fires, and pine cones.
Please help us
out by submitting
a photo!
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