Fire Ecology Quiz #1
You have now read about how fire suppression changes forests. In the next activity, you will experiment with the buildup of ladder fuels in forest models, similar to what it taking place in today's forest fire regimes. The fire triangle also introduces key vocabulary to describe fires.
PONDEROSA PINE vs. DOUGLAS FIR - Indicators of Fire Suppression Policies in western North America
Remember that most forests include a mixture of other types of firs and pines. .
Review the article from your textbook, "Changing Forests" on p. 786.
Read the online article "Fireproofing Forests" at
Make a term list in your notebook of all boldfaced words from the textbook.
Answer the questions from Stop and Think on p. 790 in your science notebook.
Stop and Think:
FOR QUESTION #1
1a; Forest fires burned more acres in the early part of the 1900s, fewer in the middle decades of the 1900s, and burned an increasing number since __________.
1b. Approx. 10 million acres burned in the western United States over those last 2 decades.
1c. For each year from 1980 to 2000, a total of about 40 million ac
1d. To calculate the rate of acres burned per year, divide the # of acres by the # of years. For example, for 1950-1970, the rate is 10 mil acres divided by the 20 years. Compare the rate of 1950-1970 to the rate of 1980-2000.
Complete the following sentences:
The trend from 1980 to 2000 is ______________. More acres were burned in western forest fires. Forests in which fires have been suppressed have built up high levels of _______________. Even with more advanced fire suppression technologies and increased ___________ spent to fight fires, the fires that start in unnaturally ________________ forests (thick, thin, dense, sparse) The result is an increase in the number of _________ that are burned.
FOR QUESTION #2
Ponderosa pines are typically less __________. The trees have ____________ (fewer, more) branches closer to the ground. Sunlight penetrates the ponderosa pine's crown; therefore, plants that need sunshine grow ____________ the trees. Shade-tolerant trees, like Douglas _______, cannot grow easily in a ponderosa pine forest. Fires that start in a Ponderosa pine forest typically remain ground fires. In the open structure of a ponderosa pine forest, there are few ___________ fuels, such as low-lying shrubs and other trees to help fires climb to the tree __________.
Douglas fir forests are much ___________ than ponderosa pine forests. Douglas firs tolerate __________, so they grow more easily in the shade of more mature trees. This results in many trees of differing sizes growing together. These close trees provide
_________________ fuels that pull ground fires up the trunks of trees to the crown.
No comments:
Post a Comment