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Why Even Resilient Forests Are Struggling to Regrow After Wildfires
Researchers say hotter fires and a century of suppression are pushing some forests toward scrubland, with only 5% of seedlings regrowing in one Yellowstone area.
- Researchers report that increasingly intense wildfires are preventing forest regeneration, causing a gradual shift toward scrublands or grasslands rather than the expected regrowth of towering forests.
- Climate change and a century of fire suppression have created conditions for hotter, more vicious fires, leaving once-thriving forests vulnerable to permanent conversion.
- At Sugarite Canyon State Park, research scientist Chris Guiterman of the University of Colorado Boulder documented the loss of 400-year-old trees, while University of California, Davis ecologist Derek Young noted comparable shifts following the 2021 Dixie Fire.
- Florida manages this risk through proactive prescribed burning; the Florida Forest Service issues about 85,000 authorizations annually to treat 2.5 million acres, according to University of Florida associate professor Rae Crandall.
- Although the future remains uncertain regarding potential tipping points, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Monica Turner emphasizes these ecosystems may possess more capacity for adaptation than researchers currently credit.
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Why even resilient forests are struggling to regrow after wildfires - WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports
(CNN) — As Monica Turner trekked across the western hills of Yellowstone National Park, the cold rain was inescapable. Even the constant movement of putting...
·Miami, United States
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Wildfires across the US are changing forest landscapes — and the tipping point may be on the horizon
By Taylor Romine, CNN (CNN) — As Monica Turner trekked across the western hills of Yellowstone National Park, the cold rain was inescapable. Even the constant movement of putting one foot in front of the other as she fought through a slew of dense branches could not warm her body. It was easy to forget it was July.Four years later in 2017, Turner made the same journey. But instead of fighting the once compact forest, she was met with a desolate …
·Panama City, United States
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Total News Sources36
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center35Last UpdatedBias Distribution97% Center
Bias Distribution
- 97% of the sources are Center
97% Center
C 97%
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