[RWG] FIRE 07 Climate change Re: NEWS: Climate change likely to increase fires

[Wayne Tyson]

While I don't doubt that there is truth in the 
anecdotal observations that the forested 
mountains "helped to hold moisture," the tie to 
climate change might, in itself, be too small to 
rise above the background "noise" of worldwide 
insults to the earth, which, taken together, must 
have some effect on both local weather and global climate.

The "chaining" of piñon pines and junipers 
throughout the Southwest and Great Basin is a 
classic case of bozo “ecology,” based on the 
knee-jerk assumption that the space “taken up” by 
these species and other “brush” would provide 
more grass for cattle. Left out of the “equation” 
were the “indirect” effects of such species like 
wind speed, transpiration, evaporation, rain 
interception, surface storage and metering 
effects on runoff and the dewatering* effects of 
the resulting gullying, soil and nutrient 
loss-­just to name a few. By not understanding 
the entire phenomenon, the linear-thinking 
armchair cow boys and their pseudo-intellectual 
academic yahoo associates in Big Gummint, screwed 
themselves, their cow-playthings, wildlife, and 
the taxpayers, while a few bulldozer owners and 
biocide manufacturers and sellers got rich.

But it has long been a tough row to hoe for any 
serious ecological studies, as the “range 
management” know-it-alls have got the sources of 
funding all sewed up. But keep pushing anyway.

WT

* A major overlooked factor is the effect of 
trees on the part of the hydrologic process that 
includes infiltration, percolation, depth of 
wetted profile, soil water retention, water 
table, etc.  Too few hydrologists, even, tend to 
neglect mention of the importance of subsurface 
water storage and its effect on surface hydrology 
in all its technical respects.  Another example of linear thinking.


At 08:03 AM 10/15/2007, penny at pinenut.com wrote:
>I would certainly like to see some work being 
>done on the impact of deforestation in The Great Basin and climate change.
>
>The pinon nut harvesters have been in those 
>forests for 3 generations and longer. They tell 
>me that they did not have to wait for rain from 
>the Pacific in days gone by and that the 
>forested mountains helped hold moisture in the region.
>Penny Frazier
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: <mailto:landrest at cox.net>Wayne Tyson
>To: <mailto:plant at plantconservation.org>Olivia 
>Kwong ; 
><mailto:native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org>native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org 
>; 
><mailto:apwg at lists.plantconservation.org>apwg at lists.plantconservation.org 
>; <mailto:rwg at lists.plantconservation.org>rwg at lists.plantconservation.org
>Sent: Friday, October 12, 2007 10:02 PM
>Subject: [RWG] FIRE 07 Climate change Re: NEWS: 
>Climate change likely to increase fires
>
>Invasive plants like the Sahara mustard are 
>quite likely to be a factor in wildfires, as 
>they fill spaces between widely-scattered 
>shrubs, and climate change will no doubt affect 
>fire behavior, but I yearn for more evidence and 
>less opinion and conjecture regarding such 
>sweeping conclusions.  It makes for good press, 
>but what is needed is good research and solid 
>data.  Fires have, and will continue to be, a 
>factor in Great Basin ecosystems, but the real 
>question is what precisely is the connection 
>between the data and the conclusions, and what 
>is the marginal difference.  Sensationalism 
>destroys credibility, and "we" need credibility 
>more than ever in these truly pivotal times.
>
>WT

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