  
Wildland fire plays an important role in maintaining a diversity of vegetation types and successional phases in the boreal forest and tundra of Alaska. For instance, a fire of moderate severity will usually kill spruce trees, however black spruce have semi-serotinous cones that release an abundance of seeds after a fire. Deciduous trees such as birch and aspen come back quickly after fire from vegetative reproduction or by seed germination. Many of the shrubs in the boreal forests and tundra (willows, roses, Labrador tea) will re-sprout vigorously after a moderate fire. Non-woody plants such as fireweed and grasses will also become more abundant in the early stages after a fire. The mosses and lichens that blanket the ground are fuel for the fire and are usually consumed. New pioneer species of mosses and liverworts establish, and over time as the spruce canopy develops, the feather mosses and lichens will re-establish. The vegetation changes after a fire are usually beneficial to wildlife. Birds and wildlife species including moose take advantage of the newly re-sprouted grasses, shrubs such as willows and deciduous trees after fires.
The purpose of the Alaska NPS Fire Ecology Program is to understand the ecological effects of fire on the landscape. Information is collected and analyzed about the effects of fire on vegetation, fuels, soil, and wildlife habitat. Information is also collected on the fire behavior associated with the fire effects. The information and results are provided to fire and resource managers, other park staff, the interagency agency fire community and the general public.
NPS Fire Management – Fire Ecology Program
USFS Fire Effects Information System
Tall Timbers fire ecology database and thesaurus
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Author: Karen La May
Last modified
on: April 20, 2009
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