Following the worst fire on record in Yellowstone National Park, biologist, Donald P. Hodel examines the forest looking for signs of new life. By next spring, many seeds released from rock-hard pine cones will be fertilized by nutrients leaching into the soil from the now-packed ash, will sprout. Grasses and several types of wildflowers are already sprouting less than seven weeks after the fire. Next year, the ground cover replacing the park's burnt stands of aging lodgepole pines should provide a 30-fold increase in plant species. The new growth will attract a larger variety of birds and other animal life to the area.
Following the worst fire on record in Yellowstone National Park, biologist, Donald Despain examines the forest looking for signs of new life. By next spring, many seeds released from rock-hard pine cones will be fertilized by nutrients leaching into the soil from the now-packed ash, will sprout. Grasses and several types of wildflowers are already sprouting less than seven weeks after the fire. Next year, the ground cover replacing the park's burnt stands of aging lodgepole pines should provide a 30-fold increase in plant species. The new growth will attract a larger variety of birds and other animal life to the area.