After the Fires

"The ravaging fires in Yellowstone National Park in 1988 have been the subject of intense study, for Yellowstone, the world's first national park, is often considered a paradigm for park and wildlands management issues in other parts of the world. This book provides the first comprehensive scientific summary of the actual response of the Yellowstone ecosystem to the fires." "Written by leading experts in wildlife biology, ecosystem science, landscape ecology, and forest science, the book is the result of careful analysis of data, rather than of emotional responses to blackened vistas. It shows clearly that ecological components of the system are interactive - that, for example, changes in what kinds of materials lie on the bottom of streambeds affect how debris flows downstream. The book also presents surprises: some things did not change in response to the fires. Areas that were forested before the fires grew back as forests following the fires; elk and bison population survival has been more closely tied to the severity of winter weather than to the fire severity. The largest effects of the fires were felt at the smallest scales, and the long-term devastation predicted as the park burned did not come to pass. The resilience of this naturally functioning ecosystem to these huge fires has important lessons for us and for our more heavily managed landscapes."--BOOK JACKET.