A decades-long experiment north of the Grand Canyon on the Arizona Strip is offering new insights into the fate of old pines and oaks when fire is restored to a landscape.
The 5,000-acre study site was thinned and then burned starting in the 1990s. Models suggest that treated areas have less risk of catastrophic crown fires. However, a recent study shows that more old oak trees die in the treated areas because they’re vulnerable to prescribed burns.
Northern Arizona University ecologist John Paul Roccaforte calls it a tradeoff.
"It’s important to look at that, because if we had a crown fire go through that area, oftentimes crown fires basically kill all the trees, including your old trees," Roccaforte says.
The study also found ponderosa pines grew about twice as fast in the treated areas compared to the control, which Roccaforte says may help them survive future fires, drought or insects.
