A Flourishing ForestPeering into the forest today, you may see signs of ranging storms. Ravaged by wind and later by the Fires of '88, the forest here looked devastated. But lodgepole pines are well suited to Yellowstone's harsh climate and volcanic soils. The evidence grows each year.Lodgepole Life CycleBorn in the Fires of '88, the lodgepole pines here are thriving in ash-enriched soil. With serotinous cones on their branches, the trees are prepared for a firey day in the future - and will then bear a new generation.Beneath Stormy Skies1984A violent wind shear uprooted and toppled thousands of trees here. Seedlings emerged the following spring.1988Four years later, the Fires of '88 roared through Yellowstone, more fierce and uncontrollable than the wind that drove them. When fire reached the blowdown, flames rapidly engulfed tinder-dry logs - and opened cones to release millions of seeds.Seeds of Renewal1989Lodgepole seedlings, strawberries, and grouse whortleberry emerged the following spring.1998By 1998, ten-year-old saplings had already grown several feet high.
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