Prescribed fire

When you walk through a forest, it may feel like a static setting where very little is happening. But trees are constantly interacting and reacting to each other as they grow. There’s intense competition for light and space. Every shift affects the overall makeup of the forest in some way. Forest scientists like me spend a lot of time thinking about forest succession – a predictable process in which plant species colonize and dominate a piece of land. The basic sequence is for land to evolve from an open field to brush and shrubs, then to young trees and ultimately to large, mature trees. Disturbances, such as a major storm or wildfire, can interrupt or set back forest succession. I study ecological changes in species composition, tree arrangement and forest development that occur during succession and after disturbances. My research team analyzes conditions in mixed-species deciduous, or leafy, forests. Using tree rings, we reconstruct what previous forests looked l...