Story by Cindy Tran •
A smoke column rises from wildfire EWF031 near Lodgepole, Alberta on May 4, 2023.
© Alberta Wildfire
With weather a clear factor in the historic wildfire season Alberta is experiencing, some researchers say better forest management would make fore less intense, easier-to-battle blazes.
As wildfire season persists ongoing debates about the leading cause of the fires is sparking tension among the already embattled Alberta, with some claiming arson while others saying climate change, researchers are pointing to weather and sharpening forestry management is a key to combatting future wildfires.
Devon Earl, a conservation specialist at Alberta Wilderness Association , says that fires are a natural part of forests in Alberta.
Some trees such as lodgepole pines, which use heat to release seeds, actually require forest fires in order to regenerate and over time forests have evolved with fires as the major natural disturbance.
Earl said that the provincial government and forestry companies have said the solution to managing wildfires is to cut down older forests because they are more susceptible to burning, but she disagrees.
“Old forests and mature forests are actually more resilient to wildfires than younger forests,” Earl said. “When they do burn, in a lot of cases, they actually burn at a lower intensity and so those fires don’t kill the whole land and they don’t travel as far.”
But with the amount of industrial clear cutting that is happening, there are more young forests regenerating that tend to be more dry than older forests, making them more susceptible to an intense wildfire.
Forestry companies are required to reforest areas after harvesting, in theory it is a good thing, however Earl’s concerns are with glyphosate, a herbicide that companies will often spray on a regenerating forest. The herbicide kills deciduous trees like broadleaf plants and grasses which are competing with the newly planted coniferous trees that the companies are trying to grow back.
So instead of getting a variety of species, including deciduous trees that are more resistant to fire, there are only single species conifers that can be very dry.
Focusing on forest management
Earl points to better forest management as a key solution to fighting future wildfires.
She said bringing in more prescribed burns where it’s safe to do so would help mitigate the intensity of the wildfire seasons. Prescribed fires are applied under select weather conditions and are managed to minimize smoke and maximize the benefit of the site, according to the provincial website.
Earl’s association is in the process of analyzing where various environmental policies and regulations are falling short and finding solutions to change them to better reflect conservation efforts when it comes to preserving forestry and wildlife.
“There’s all these values that forests provide that aren’t adequately being protected by the current legislation that we have,” said Earl.
When people think about what forests provide they often think it’s typically restricted to timber, however there is water filtration, flood mitigation and habitat for wildlife and for species at risk. She said this is a crucial step to providing a sustainable forest.
Ellen Whitman, a forest fire research scientist with Natural Resources Canada in the Canadian Forest Service , said that there’s been some misunderstanding about how fire causes are identified in the country. She said that a “human caused” fire does not immediately mean arson.
“Human caused fires happen all the time by accident for other reasons,” she said. “It can be things like, a power line or a start from a railway or people leaving campfires unattended.”
Her latest research showed how changing climate and increased wildfires are altering the makeup of North American Boreal forests. Whitman said they typical see trees return to a similar structure prior to a fire which is a common cycle of renewal when the forest is disturbed.
However with extreme fire weather in some cases forests are burning more frequently than they did historically, sometimes one after another which prevents trees from renewing and growing, which result in thick stands being replaced by grassy landscapes with just a few trees.
“If you have two fires in close succession, let’s say 15 years apart, the trees that were growing back as seedlings after that initial disturbance, haven’t had the time really to develop their seed banks, the resources and if you interrupt that cycle you don’t necessarily get that same resilient response where you’re returning to the same forest type that used to be there before,” said Whitman.
Whitman adds that the warm, dry and windy spring weather that the province has had this year explains why such severe fire events are happening across the country. She notes that climate change is a factor, but it is difficult to attribute it to a single event.
“The number of fires hasn’t really changed, but what is changing is the effects of those fires, how large they get and how much they burn.”
ctran@postmedia.com
Twitter: @kccindytran
With weather a clear factor in the historic wildfire season Alberta is experiencing, some researchers say better forest management would make fore less intense, easier-to-battle blazes.
As wildfire season persists ongoing debates about the leading cause of the fires is sparking tension among the already embattled Alberta, with some claiming arson while others saying climate change, researchers are pointing to weather and sharpening forestry management is a key to combatting future wildfires.
Devon Earl, a conservation specialist at Alberta Wilderness Association , says that fires are a natural part of forests in Alberta.
Some trees such as lodgepole pines, which use heat to release seeds, actually require forest fires in order to regenerate and over time forests have evolved with fires as the major natural disturbance.
Earl said that the provincial government and forestry companies have said the solution to managing wildfires is to cut down older forests because they are more susceptible to burning, but she disagrees.
“Old forests and mature forests are actually more resilient to wildfires than younger forests,” Earl said. “When they do burn, in a lot of cases, they actually burn at a lower intensity and so those fires don’t kill the whole land and they don’t travel as far.”
But with the amount of industrial clear cutting that is happening, there are more young forests regenerating that tend to be more dry than older forests, making them more susceptible to an intense wildfire.
Forestry companies are required to reforest areas after harvesting, in theory it is a good thing, however Earl’s concerns are with glyphosate, a herbicide that companies will often spray on a regenerating forest. The herbicide kills deciduous trees like broadleaf plants and grasses which are competing with the newly planted coniferous trees that the companies are trying to grow back.
So instead of getting a variety of species, including deciduous trees that are more resistant to fire, there are only single species conifers that can be very dry.
Focusing on forest management
Earl points to better forest management as a key solution to fighting future wildfires.
She said bringing in more prescribed burns where it’s safe to do so would help mitigate the intensity of the wildfire seasons. Prescribed fires are applied under select weather conditions and are managed to minimize smoke and maximize the benefit of the site, according to the provincial website.
Earl’s association is in the process of analyzing where various environmental policies and regulations are falling short and finding solutions to change them to better reflect conservation efforts when it comes to preserving forestry and wildlife.
“There’s all these values that forests provide that aren’t adequately being protected by the current legislation that we have,” said Earl.
When people think about what forests provide they often think it’s typically restricted to timber, however there is water filtration, flood mitigation and habitat for wildlife and for species at risk. She said this is a crucial step to providing a sustainable forest.
Ellen Whitman, a forest fire research scientist with Natural Resources Canada in the Canadian Forest Service , said that there’s been some misunderstanding about how fire causes are identified in the country. She said that a “human caused” fire does not immediately mean arson.
“Human caused fires happen all the time by accident for other reasons,” she said. “It can be things like, a power line or a start from a railway or people leaving campfires unattended.”
Her latest research showed how changing climate and increased wildfires are altering the makeup of North American Boreal forests. Whitman said they typical see trees return to a similar structure prior to a fire which is a common cycle of renewal when the forest is disturbed.
However with extreme fire weather in some cases forests are burning more frequently than they did historically, sometimes one after another which prevents trees from renewing and growing, which result in thick stands being replaced by grassy landscapes with just a few trees.
“If you have two fires in close succession, let’s say 15 years apart, the trees that were growing back as seedlings after that initial disturbance, haven’t had the time really to develop their seed banks, the resources and if you interrupt that cycle you don’t necessarily get that same resilient response where you’re returning to the same forest type that used to be there before,” said Whitman.
Whitman adds that the warm, dry and windy spring weather that the province has had this year explains why such severe fire events are happening across the country. She notes that climate change is a factor, but it is difficult to attribute it to a single event.
“The number of fires hasn’t really changed, but what is changing is the effects of those fires, how large they get and how much they burn.”
ctran@postmedia.com
Twitter: @kccindytran
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