BC Parks advocates the use of prescribed fire. Doesn fire damage the forests?
Fire has been part of the forests of British Columbia for thousands of years. In fact, there are species that have evolved with fire to the point of depending on it for continued existence. An example of this includes both lodgepole pine and jack pine cones that are “sealed” by a resin. Heat from fires melts this resin and releases the seeds of the cones. Fire is also one of the natural processes that continually breaks up habitats that results in a more varied landscape. The higher the variety of habitats, the higher the biodiversity of the landscape. Fire also stimulates new forest growth by releasing the nutrients into the soil which provides the base for new vegetation. New growth is often extremely important for some species as a food source.
