Lab 8

The 2009 Station Fires was a series of sever wildfires in the Angeles National Forest. The fires burned 160,577 acres of land causing danger and panic for those surrounding the area. However it is easy to overlook the fact that the Angeles Forest is simply a portion of the preexisting wild area that stood before intense urbanization and settlement of the region. According to the United States Forest Service’s the area is “dense chaparral which changes to pine and fir-covered slopes” although beautiful to look at this type of vegetation often has a history and necessity for burning in order to renew itself. The “devastation” caused by the fires is nothing more than nature running its natural course. The urban areas and highways that surround the space are obvious interruption to the once continuous land that once existed in the space. This fragmentation is detrimental and I believed increased the intensity of the already inevitable fire.

The Chaparral is unique because it is a biome, or a natural plant and animal community existing only on the West coast of the United States and South America, in South Africa, and Australia. This biome is known for being hot and dry, a condition that the flora and fauna of the area have evolved to withstand. For example the plants have leaves that can hold moisture and usually have shallow roots that cover a larger area, this is an attempt to catch the little water that falls. The chaparral is also accustomed to fires that work as natural renewals for the plants and soil. This chaparral’s natural cycle has been thwarted by the development of homes around and in the area. The fire was not allowed to run its natural course and was extinguished before it got to the homes that bordered the forest.

The homes and highways around the forest have reduced the forest to its fragmented and greatly reduced state. The urban populated areas become the southern border of the Angeles forest and Interstate 14 becomes the northern boundary. This limits the range of the fire and creates one of greater intensity in the already shrunken forest. This intensity is high because of the many years of suppressions; this causes more harm to the already unique plants in the biome. This can lead to a lack if diversity in the area and even cause some species to go extinct or endangered.

Fragmentation is the breaking up of a continuous natural bodies; it is “ issue of primary concern in conservation biology” (Franklin). The Angeles Forest is obviously a fragment of the former chaparral. In between small segments there lies houses, schools, and roads. Plants are unable to flourish and many animals are confused because they cannot move as freely as before. Again the fire also could not take its course because of these obstructions.

The Station fires were viewed as negative because they put people and their homes in danger. However we should remember these fires are supposed to be a since of renewal and rebirth. This is very important in an area that has been so reduced from its previous size. For this reason the fire was restricted to the boundaries of the forest. However although the intensity of the fire was great we can already see that the fire has done some good for the plant community. I believe this fire was a warning that we step back and allow nature to run its course.

Works Cited

• M., Lucy. "Chaparral Biome." 2000. Blue Planet. 23 November 2010 <http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/chaparral.htm >.
• United States Department of Agriculture. About the Forest. 2010 йил 24-November <http://www.fs.usda.gov>.
• Blue Planet. Chaparral. 2000. 2010 23-November <http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/chaparral.htm>
• Thinkquest. Biomes: Chaparral Plants. 2008. 2010 24-November <http://library.thinkquest.org/C0113340/main.php?section=biomes&topic=chaparral&subtopic=plants>
• Franklin, Alan B., Barry R. Noon, and T. L. George. "What Is Habitat Fragmentation?" Studies in Avion Biology 29th ser. 25.20 (2002): 20-29. Print.
• Peterson, Molly. "A Year after Station Fire, Botanist, Volunteers Protect Changing Forest Ecology." KPCC. Southern California Public Radio, 28 Aug. 2010. Web. 25 Nov. 2010.