Coming back
After fire destroyed more than 400 hectares of forestland in Annapolis County, there are signs of regeneration throughout the woods.
When fire rolled over and through 400 hectares of forest land around Annapolis County’s Seven Mile Lake in August 2016, it left behind ash, char and blackened woodland.
But a year later the signs of a forest regenerating are visible throughout the woods: Moss and ferns are growing, some trees try to push out new leaves and the occasional songbird can be heard.
Nutrients released by the fire have gone into the soil and helped some of that regrowth, said Peter Neily, a forest ecologist with the Natural Resources Department.
In some areas the fire burned deep, taking out tree roots and killing stands of spruce trees and wiping out plants on the forest floor. But walking through parts of the site this week shows mosses, bracken ferns and the appropriately named fire weed are already taking hold, along with several other plants.
But those weren’t the only signs of regrowth. Dead ferns laying on the burned ground in some areas show that some plants even grew last year, after the fire and before winter.
Leafless red maples have suckers now growing off their trunks and stumps, while some softwood trees survived and are already dropping cones. White pine, which has a thicker bark, can withstand fires better than others.
The weeds, mosses and plants growing now are called pioneer species.
“Their purpose in life is to start sucking up all the nutrients that were released,” Neily said. “It’s a bit early for the pine to be seeding in.” When fire rolled over and through 400 hectares of forest land around Annapolis County’s Seven Mile Lake in August 2016, it left behind ash, char and blackened woodland. But a year later the signs of a forest regenerating are visible throughout the woods.
Nitrogen, phosphorus potassium and calcium were released from the forest floor, while other nutrients are released from the trees and plants that burned and are leaching into the soil.
“It will take a while for this site to recover, nutrient-wise,” Neily said. “A richer site where the soil is deep or a bit finer will have a recovery that is quicker.”
Some areas of the fire zone are like that, while others are strewn with granite rocks and boulders.
Moss is one of the first things coming in to help hold moisture and nutrients in some areas of the fire site. That suggested the fire didn’t burn deeply there, said John Brazner, an ecosystem and habitat specialist with DNR.
What’s less noticeable are signs of wildlife. Chipmunk and squirrel holes show no sign of recent activity. The calls of birds are not noticeable in some areas, and a single American toad looking for insects is the only sign of life in
one section visited.
Some birds can be heard in areas where wetlands provided some protection for plant life. But Brazner said larger animals are less likely to be seen in the burned out woods right now.
He said what comes back first — and how quickly — also depends on how deep the fire burned.
He said like plants, the animals that are quick to reproduce are the first to come back.
He said deer will be back once there are plants on which to browse, and grouse after that when the alders and shrubs they like to eat are established.
If the mice and voles did take a hit to their population, that can force owls, hawks, foxes, coyotes and other predators elsewhere.
The Seven Mile Lake fire and several others in Annapolis and Queens Counties last year were deemed to have been intentionally set.