![]() Their secret is an ability to grow in sun or shade and endure our summer droughts.Īs we’ve seen in the Gorge and Clackamas River canyon burns, Bigleaf maple roots are quite resistant to fire. They thrive as towering giants in rainforest canyons, where they are coated in moss and Licorice fern, but can also eke out a living in shaded pockets among the basalt cliffs of the dry deserts of the eastern Columbia River Gorge. These impressive trees are iconic in the Pacific Northwest, and highly adaptable. Here are five of the most prominent heroes, beginning with Bigleaf maple (below). It’s worth getting to know these trees as more than “trash trees”. But as our society continues our crash course in the folly of fire suppression and ecological benefits of fire, these species are emerging as hard-working heroes in post-fire forest recovery. Growing up in Oregon, I was taught that many of these broadleaf tree species that are leading the fire recovery in the Clackamas River canyon and at Eagle Creek were “trash trees”, good for firewood and little more. The forest recovery from the Bowl Fire give us a glimpse of what the burned areas of the Gorge will look like in another 10-12 years Thimbleberry (in the foreground) is especially prolific here. The understory throughout this part of the canyon floor is exploding with new growth from roots that largely survived the fire and benefit from the moisture here in their recovery. These damaged trunks of these trees may not survive over the long term, but most are also sprouting new shoots from their base - an insurance policy in their effort to survive. ![]() Here, Bigleaf maples on either side of the view are sprouting new growth from midway up their partially burned trunks. This is typical of burns and can be seen throughout the Eagle Creek burn, as well, with well-hydrated trees in moist areas better able to withstand the intense heat of the fire. Here, the conifer overstory largely survived the fire, and even some of the broadleaf trees have survived, in part because the were less drought-stressed than trees higher up the slopes when the fire swept through. The 36 Pit Fire burned much of the South Fork Clackamas River canyon, a newly designated wilderness area, as well as several miles of the main Clackamas River canyon.įive years of slope recovery after the 36 Pit FireĪnother scene (below) from the canyon floor shows how areas with more ground moisture have fared five years after the 36 Pit Fire. This was a scary September blaze that drew required 1,000 fire fighters to contain the fire from burning utility lines and toward homes near the town of Estacada. In 2014, the 36 Pit Fire burned 5,524-acres in the canyon. Two recent fires have swept through the steep-walled canyon of the lower Clackamas River. What’s next? Learning from the Clackamas Fires ![]() So, what can we expect as the recover continues to unfold? It turns out we have a good preview of things to come with a pair of recent burns in the Clackamas River canyon, fifty miles to the south, where the forests and terrain are very similar to the Gorge. The forest recovery in the Eagle Creek burn is just beginning a cycle that has played out countless times before in Western Oregon forests, especially in the steep, thin-soiled country of the Columbia River Gorge. Recovery is slower in the most intensely burned areas, but is still underway (Photo: Nathan Zaremskiy)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |