WHY FOREST FIRES ARE GOOD

"While reading today, somehow I got into thinking about forest fires, and how even though they appear threatening to human eyes property, they actually serve important ecological purposes. A short page about this lists the following positive effects of forest fires:

* Reduce the build-up of fuel, and thus the intensity of future burns.
* Recycle nutrients bound up in litter.
* Reduce competition, allowing existing trees to grow larger.
* Leave snags that provide nesting spots for woodpeckers and other birds.
* Sprout seeds of native plants. For example, the cones of many lodgepole pines -- the characteristic tree of Yellowstone -- will only open after exposure to fire.
* Kill non-native plants that are not adapted to fire...more