Impacts of Fire on Woodland and Barren-ground Caribou Habitat
Data and Resources
Additional Info
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Creator | Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program |
| Summary | The 2014 Northwest Territories’ (NWT) fire season resulted in burn scars covering 2.845 million hectares. The severity of the burn and how quickly the vegetation regrew following the fire season was studied to learn the impacts of extreme fires on caribou habitat. We identified that the tree types (i.e., Black Spruce, Jack Pine, Aspen or Birch) that regrew and the availability of lichen for caribou depended on the type of habitat, the length of time that has passed, and how severe the fire was. We also found that lichens, important to caribou habitat, needed 45 to 70 years to recover after a fire. This is longer than the 40 years used to define disturbed habitat in the national recovery strategy for boreal woodland caribou. |
| Local Relevance | Wildfire presents a disruption to caribou habitat. As seen in 2014, there is potential for significant areas of the NWT to burn due to wildfire, particularly with climate change. It is important to understand how this affects caribou habitat. |
| Notes | This bulletin is part of the Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program's NWT Environmental Research Bulletin series - Volume 7, Issue 35. |
| Tags | Caribou,Wildfire,Wildlife,Lichen,Vegetation,Habitat,Research |
| Geographic Region | NWT |
| Release Date | 2022-01-01 |
| Last Modified Date | 2022-01-01 |
| Funding Program | Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program |