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Standing dead trees in Yellowstone National Park are wildfires waiting to happen, according to a team of researchers that recently took stock of the park’s forested areas.
There are high levels of tree mortality in nearly half the park, the researchers found, with many standing dead trees located near infrastructure, including park entrances. The team’s findings are a stark reminder of how delicate ecosystems are, and how prone they can be to sudden change. The team’s research was published last month in Forest Ecosystems.
Yellowstone National Park is over two million acres of spellbinding natural wonder. It’s resplendent with wildlife, waterways, canyons, valleys, geysers, and hot springs (of course), and lots and lots of trees. According to the park’s website, approximately 80% of Yellowstone is covered in forest.
Wildfires are a natural part of Yellowstone’s ecosystem; some species have specifically adapted to rebound after fires. Natural forest fires are caused by lightning and typically burn out shortly, but some flames are fanned by winds and cause significant damage. When natural wildfires occur, but hazardous conditions suggest widespread damage could result, the burns are suppressed.
In 1988, several fires covered more than one million acres of the park. The photo at the top of this article shows a stand of trees that burned in the ’88 fires as seen in 2006, nearly 20 years after the event.
In the study, the research team modeled the distribution of dead trees in the park using data from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). They also used satellite imagery to assess forest canopy height, vegetation cover, and tree health.
The study authors reported that “a significant portion of the park is experiencing moderate to high levels of tree mortality.” Specifically, about 40% of the landmass, with the greatest concentration of dead trees in the central-western portion of Yellowstone.
Maps showing the ratio of dead trees in the Yellowstone area. Graphic: Di Yang et al. “Our model showed an accuracy of 76.65%, giving us a clear picture of where standing dead trees are concentrated,” said Di Yang, a geographer at the University of Florida and corresponding author on the paper, in a Tsinghua University Press release.
When weather conditions are exceedingly dry and warm—as we’re seeing in southern California right now—dead trees provide ample fuel for wildfires. Combine strong winds with a wildland-urban interface, and you have a a disaster on your hands.
The ongoing (and as of yet uncontrolled) Los Angeles wildfires are a case study in how quickly the situation on the ground can worsen. Since Gizmodo explained how the Santa Ana winds are contributing to the blazes yesterday, two new fires have taken root, one abutting the city’s famous Sunset Boulevard.
Furthermore, drought conditions can make predicting a fire’s behavior “much more difficult,” according to the Yellowstone National Park website. Add gusty winds to the mix and even natural forest fires can grow out of control.
Forest management is critical to ensure that natural wildfires do their natural thing without causing widespread, out-of-control damage. But forest management can’t control climatological factors like prolonged droughts. Whatever the situation may be, you can always check out the current level of fire danger in Yellowstone on the park’s website.
