Forest fires spur growth, reproduction

In this era when the numbers of high intensity forest fires are increasing at a rapid rate, many people hold the belief that forest fires are bad. This belief has prevailed for various reasons, including the fact that they leave the landscape bare and cost millions of dollars in damages. It has led the U.S. Forest Service to make and implement policy aimed at preventing and suppressing forest fires, such as their '10 AM Policy.”

While these fires can cause a lot of damage and can kill, they are an important part of nature and are a requirement for many forests. Evergreen trees, such as Lodgepole Pine and Jack Pine, have serotinous cones, which means that they need intense fires in order to reproduce. Forest fires also are an important aspect in term of Iowa's native oak forests.

The amount of oak in Iowa's forested lands is decreasing due to the fact that oak cannot grow very well in shade and other more shade tolerant species, such as sugar maple, are taking over the forest. To preserve Iowa's native oak forest we need fires in order to clear out the understory so that the oaks can successfully reproduce.

Kevin Downey

Cedar Rapids