Latest Ecological succession Stories
Biological invasions are one of the major threats to biodiversity and in many cases they have considerable impact on economy and human health. For their effective management it is important to understand which areas and ecosystems are at the highest risk of being invaded.The first map of the level of alien plant invasions in European Union was published in the Wiley-Blackwell journal Diversity and Distributions.An international team of Czech, Spanish and British plant ecologists investigated...
Samples of airborne particulate matter showed high concentrations of potentially harmful materials in a form facilitating bioavailabilityThe health threat to city dwellers posed by Southern California wildfires like those of November 2008 may have been underestimated by officials.Detailed particulate analysis of the smoke produced by previous California wild fires indicates that the composition posed more serious potential threats to health than is generally realized, according to a new paper...
A New Jersey fire service official says concerns that wildfire in the Wharton State Forest would spread are easing thanks to improving conditions. Stephen Maurer, a New Jersey Forest Fire Service assistant fire warden, said firefighting efforts had begun to stem the blaze's spread and it was nearly 40 percent contained, The (Newark) New Jersey Star-Ledger said Thursday. "The fire activity has decreased substantially. Most of the fire has been burning on the ground because it's been so dry,"...
About 350 firefighters battled a fast-moving wildfire spreading across a wide area of Los Angeles Thursday, fire officials said. Covering about 45 aces, the wildfire was burning near I-405 and the Getty Center, both of which were closed temporarily, close to upscale Brentwood and Beverly Hills, the Los Angeles Fire Department said on its Web site. CNN said although no formal evacuation orders were issued, authorities warned residents to be prepared to move if necessary. More erratic winds...
By Associated Press DRAPER -- The U.S. Forest Service has released its plan to restore the area burned by an 808-acre wildfire in Corner Canyon that got dangerously close to some homes. Gully trenches will be dug. Approximately 1,500 feet of wire fence and sediment traps will be installed in drainages above homes in Bear Creek and Cherry Creek Canyons. Government officials will begin wood straw mulching and seeding 140 acres of land affected by the fire to reduce soil erosion expected by...
DRAPER -- The U.S. Forest Service has released its plan to restore the area burned by an 808-acre wildfire in Corner Canyon that got dangerously close to some homes. Gully trenches will be dug. Approximately 1,500 feet of wire fence and sediment traps will be installed in drainages above homes in Bear Creek and Cherry Creek Canyons. Government officials will begin wood straw mulching and seeding 140 acres of land affected by the fire to reduce soil erosion expected by thunderstorms and...
By Laura Nesbitt Mountain View Telegraph Plans for environmental consultants to draft a community wildfire protection document have expanded. The Estancia Basin Watershed Health, Restoration and Monitoring Project uses plots in the Manzano Mountains that are maintained by SWCA Environmental Consultants. "We installed fire monitoring plots in August this year. The thinning monitoring plots were installed last year. One of them was burned in the Trigo Fire," said Victoria Williams, natural...
It's been a good burn: Three years after the more dangerous parts of the Santa Fe Watershed underwent a thinning of the masses of small trees clumped together like so much tinder, the Forest Service recently got the go-ahead from state and federal officialdom for a controlled burn in the canyon. Carefully planned, it began with fires hand-set by drip torches around the perimeter of the main target. That created a charred buffer between the slash to be burned and the surrounding forest....
Fire officials will spark a 1,068-acre prescribed burn in Box Elder County later this week. Fire crews will prepare the area -- located near the ranching community of Lynn, Utah -- by burning a perimeter to establish a blackline. Then, on Friday, fire officials will start the prescribe burn with aerial and ground ignitions. The goal of the fire is to reduce the risk of wildfire and reduce the buildup and continuity of sagebrush. (c) 2008 Deseret News (Salt Lake City). Provided by ProQuest...
The U.S. Forest Service budget shows more than $400 million has been shifted to fighting wildfires in the past two years. USA Today said Tuesday that the changing priorities have led to deferred or canceled maintenance, and have placed limits on public access to national forests. "The impacts will be far-reaching and will affect all parts of the Forest Service's budget, making it hard for the agency to accomplish much beyond the most minimal aspects of its many responsibilities," said Rep....
