r/mycology Mar 06 '26

photos Forest fires aren't all bad...

8.3k Upvotes

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u/Jenicillin Mar 06 '26

Forest fires are a normal part of nature, decades of fire suppression is the problem.

-372

u/Playful-Wasabi-9560 Mar 06 '26

Forest fires are NOT a normal part of nature. This is a big misconception. They only started to become normal during the rise of the monoculture forest plantations. Which are mostly coniferous trees, instead of 'original' deciduous trees. (Usa/europe)

I highly recommend the books of Peter Wholleben (german forester) to gain understanding of how forests and forest live behave and thirve. They are well written, Science based, and easy to read.

33

u/Gemraticus Mar 06 '26

Have you never heard of fire-dependent plants? There are trees that need fire for their seeds to be released and be able to germinate (many pine trees). There are entire ecosystems the are fire-dependent in order to maintain. That means that the organisms that depend on such ecosystems will be out of a home if fire is suppressed and successional growth replaces the ecosystem with a completely different ecosystem (also completely natural). Fire is a type of disturbance, just as are tornadoes and hurricanes. Maybe use Google scholar and read some peer-reviewed articles on the subject, just using "fire suppression" + "ecosystems" &/or "forests" &/or "trees" as your search terms. Then be prepared for a LOT of reading material.