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Forestry is like every science: you study it because the truth isn’t always what you expect. Take wildfires as an example. When we were little kids, we learned from TV that forest fires kill animals, and destroy a lot of valuable wood. But wildfires also bring unexpected benefits to the forest. Let’s look at a couple of examples.
First, fires are great for biodiversity. That means they create a number of new habitats for new species of insects, animals and birds. These creatures enter the burned areas as soon as the plants start growing again. Certain type of woodpeckers, for example, prefer newly grown forests and only build nests there. They’ve even been seen using sticks from burned trees when making their nests.
Second, the new forest is likely to be healthier. Old, diseased, and insect-infested trees are burnt. Thus, the new trees that grow up will be healthier for some years. Also, fires make the soil more fertile and new plant types flourish. The soil in an old pine forest is usually too acidic to let many kinds of ground-plants grow. The fire, by adding ash, removes acidity. The resulting new plant types in turn attract animals like deer that usually shun old-growth forests.
It’s important to realize that a forest is always changing and that fires are a vital part of this process. So in forestry, fire is not always a disaster. It’s actually part of the plan!