Without fires, forests grow dense with trees that compete for nutrients, sunlight and space. Competition and stress leave forests susceptible to disease, insects and fire. Many plants on the forest floor die competing for nutrients adding to the fallen trees and the buildup of burnable “fuels”.

The United States Forest Service performs “prescribed fires to clean up the forest floor and create habitat for wildlife. Small fires are like nature’s broom, sweeping up the buildup of dead plants on the forest floor and cleaning out the insects and disease. As the smoke clears grasses, shrubs and wildflowers are born in the ashes of the newly enriched soil attracting deer, elk and bighorn sheep. Aspen trees are the first trees to spring back after a fire providing homes for many birds and animals.

Tale of Two Forests:

Notice the difference between the types of trees on either side of the highway. Throughout Colorado, altitude, rain, snow and the amount of sunlight determine where each plant grows adapting to the conditions where they best survive.

Ponderosa Pine Forest:

Grow on sun-dried south-facing slopes.

Have adapted to surviving small, warm ground fires every 15 years.

Have thick bark to protect them from fire.

Vulnerable to attack by the mountain pine beetle.

Spruce-Fir Forest

Grow on cool, damp shady hillsides on north facing slopes.

Rarely burn but when they do, fires are hot and burn the tops of the trees.

Vulnerable to attack by the spruce budworm.

Marker is on Pike's Peak Toll Road.

Courtesy hmdb.org

Credits and Sources: