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Project Noah Nature School
Juniperus osteosperma
Wildfire is a common, natural occurrence in southern Idaho and greatly affects the ecology of the area. This is a small Utah juniper that was affected by a small lightning caused wildfire in the summer of 2012. Part of the tree had burned earlier in the day and the ash pit below reignited it when this photo was taken. The second and third photos in the series were the originals while the first is zoomed.
This juniper was found on a rocky ridge where it had grown with sagebrush, Sandberg's bluegrass, cheatgrass and various herbs before the wildfire. In 2013, most of the grass and herbs will be back but the sagebrush and juniper will take many years to reestablish themselves.
I was involved with the containment of this lightning caused wildfire. This photo was taken at a time when the majority of the wildfire had been contained. I thought I would upload this spotting as I've never seen a spotting like this on PN before. Depending on feedback, I could do more of this variety of spotting in the future.
Spotted on Jul 9, 2012
Submitted on Mar 3, 2013
4 Comments
Awesome spotting! Keep them coming. Really appreciate the additional information you posted.
What an interesting spotting! It shows nature's way of recycling by breaking down an organism into matter which can be used to fuel another organism's life! Terrific spotting!
This spotting focuses on a single recognizable (wild) species and as such fully conforms to what is acceptable. The additional information you've provided makes it an educational spotting to boot! And we like that -- giving it context within its ecosystem and a natural event the species experiences. Thanks for sharing.
Very neat!