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Ecoscenario: Yellowstone National Park 4/16/03 3:25 PM change periodically. As with all forests, fire is an important abiotic factor. Years of fire suppression in Yellowstone resulted in buildup of dry underbrush. In 1972 Yellowstone National Park managers decided to let fires burn themselves out. Between 1972 and 1987 there were over 200 forest fires in Yellowstone National Park. Most of these fires were small and went out quickly. In 1988 it was different. A fire burned more than one-third of the park. Many people criticized the National Park Service for their "let it burn" policy. These people felt that the forests were destroyed. However, many plants, such as the lodgepole pine, respond quite well to fires. The ecosystem in Yellowstone National Park has been able to recover. Courtesy of Teri Dannenberg Courtesy of Teri Dannenberg Forest fire at Yellowstone in 1988 Firefighters on the scene Forest fires assure a healthy forest by clearing the forest floor of accumulated debris and opening the forest canopy. Meadows are quickly covered by grass, wildflowers, and aspen saplings following a fire. Shrubs and rapid-growing aspen take over a few years later. The aspen cover protects small lodgepole pines. As the aspens reach maturity and begin dying, the pines are tall enough to dominate the forest. Forest fires clear mature lodgepole pine stands to begin the cycle again. Courtesy of Teri Dannenberg Open paths left on this ridge after the 1988 fire will become meadows. Courtesy of Teri Dannenberg New growth the year after the 1988 fire. Wildflowers, grass, and saplings spring up in a newly opened meadow. file:///Ecoscenario/yellow/content.html Page 8 of 15
Ecoscenario: Yellowstone National Park 4/16/03 3:25 PM BIOTIC DATA Lodgepole pines dominate the taiga of Yellowstone. Quaking aspen trees add to the forest canopy. In the open forest meadows you find arrowleaf balsamroot and wheatgrass. Rodents, such as yellow-bellied marmots and chipmunks, live in the meadows and forest. Moose graze on pond lilies in the streams and ponds. Birds, such as dippers, trumpeter swans, osprey, and mallard ducks, visit the ponds and streams for their meals. Beavers build dams and their lodges in streams and change the landscape. Blocked streams eventually fill with sediments and become meadows. Courtesy of Teri Dannenberg A beaver dam slows the flow of a stream, and the beavers build their lodges in the quiet pool that forms behind it. Courtesy of Teri Dannenberg Mallard ducks have used this beaver lodge as a nesting site. The female and ducklings are camouflaged by vegetation growing on top of the lodge. Courtesy of Teri Dannenberg A stream with a beaver dam and lodges slowly fills in the valley and over time becomes a meadow. file:///Ecoscenario/yellow/content.html Page 9 of 15
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Ecoscenarios Combined - FOSSweb

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