Natural History Wanderings

The LA Times reported on the failure of reforestation efforts in land burned by Station Fire.  Only about one fourth of the seedlings have survived as opposed to a survival rate of 75 to 80 percent that the U. S. Forest Service had hoped for. Some of the problems included:

• Dry ground from intense sun and wind resulted in trees drying out and dying.
• The ground supports shrubs and grass
• Many of the areas were to remote, rocky and/or steep for reforestation
• Many Coulter pine seeds planted were from other from other forests and it is possible those trees that burned were not native but planted by settlers

Read more at:  Reforestation not taking hold in land burned by Station fire – latimes.com.