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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 16d

I wrote about it here: nautil.us/this-forest-...

Why Do Some Forests Survive Megafires? How do some stands survive such a devastating fires almost intact while others perish entirely?

nautil.us

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 16d

Most Sierra Nevada forests are adapted to low-intensity fire every 10ish years. Frequent burns keep the understory sparse and starve wildfires of the fuel they need to ignite large trees.

To protect forests from catastrophic wildfires, we need more prescribed burns—a lot more.

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 16d

We can protect California's forests from megafires.

Last month, I visited part of the Sierra Nevada that burned in 2021. In unmanaged areas, most trees died. But where land managers had thinned trees and conducted prescribed burns, nearly every tree survived.

These photos show the difference.🧪🌿🌎

A ponderosa pine stand in Plumas National Forest that was killed by the 2021 Dixie Fire. This stand of trees was unmanaged during previous decades.

A healthy stand of ponderosa pines in Plumas National Forest that survived the Dixie Fire. This area received thinning and a prescribed burn between 2003 and 2005.

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · 23d

Oak‑savanna birds thrive after fire, a new study found.

Dozens of species preferred areas that burned in the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire over unburned areas. So far, these ecosystems are proving resilient to increasingly severe wildfires, the authors concluded. 🧪🌿🌎

Mendocino County’s Burned Oak Savannas Attract Birds – KneeDeep Times

A new study has found that birds are thriving in the nutrient rich oak savannas that burned in the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire.

www.kneedeeptimes.org

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Sep 3

‪This was a fun story to write.

Last year, environmental police in Brazil stumbled upon thousands of climbing bumblebee catfish. Scientists know almost nothing about this species, which only became known to science in 2017. 🧪🌿🌎

Science Magazine @science.org · Aug 22

Researchers have filmed thousands of climbing catfish scaling waterfalls, providing a rare insight into the daring migration of an enigmatic fish.

Learn more: https://scim.ag/4lDlFux

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Aug 20

Don't worry, the article says it is "supported by editorial technologies."

Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Aug 13

Botanical surveys of more than 2,000 European cemeteries found that they support at least 65 native orchid species. Graveyards might be the last best plant habitat around cities, the study authors said. 🧪🌿🌎

nautil.us/orchids-thri...

Orchids Thrive Among the Dead

Cemeteries are a gravely overlooked habitat for wild orchids in Europe

nautil.us

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Aug 10

There are so many fascinating studies you can find while looking through recent issues of scientific journals. Here is an article I wrote about a study that used high-speed videos of volcanic eruptions to determine the shapes of the projectiles they shoot. 🧪

Science Magazine @science.org · Aug 1

Hidden features of volcanic “lava bombs” have been caught on video.

Learn more: scim.ag/478PIqq

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Aug 6

Burning coal and smelting metals vaporizes small amounts of iron. Some of the iron produced by East Asian industry has been wafting into the North Pacific, where it supercharges an algal bloom. 🧪🦑

Eos @eos.org · Aug 6

Iron emissions from East Asia are pushing a phytoplankton bloom in the North Pacific farther north. Story by @markr4nger.bsky.social

Iron Emissions Are Shifting a North Pacific Plankton Bloom - Eos

Some of the iron emitted by industrial activity in East Asia is carried by winds into the North Pacific, where it nourishes iron-hungry phytoplankton.

eos.org

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Aug 5

The point I made is that forests no longer have 300 or 400 years to recover now that climate change is increasing the frequency of wildfires.

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Aug 5

Intense fires do 'kill' trees and a forest with nearly 100% tree mortality has been 'eviscerated,' even if the fire that did it is perfectly natural. Effective science communication requires down-to-earth, accurate language, not technical jargon like 'tree mortality.'

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Aug 5

Me too. The Yellowstone forests that historically burned very infrequently are the most vulnerable to increasing fire frequency caused by climate change. These forests have few adaptations to fire and take centuries to regenerate. The same could be true for boreal forests.

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Aug 4

"...In areas that burned in both fires, one-sixth as many new trees sprouted after the 2016 fire when compared to the 1988 fire, subsequent field research led by Turner revealed....Repeated fires could cause a gradual collapse in forests across the GYE, they added."

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Aug 4

Actually, that is not entirely true. From the story: "But in a changing climate, all three scientists agree that the interval of time between fires is decreasing...the 2016 Maple Fire reburned forests previously scorched in 1988...(continued in the thread)

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Aug 4

In 1988, wildfires razed one-third of Yellowstone National Park. While most park woodlands are regenerating, some have turned into meadows. A new study digs into why. 🧪🌿🌎

Yellowstone’s 1988 Fires Eviscerated Forests. Will They Ever Recover? - Mountain Journal

While most park woodlands are regenerating, some have turned into meadows. A new study digs into why.

mountainjournal.org

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Feb 16

Whether it’s ice cream, a greasy hamburger, or a heap of french fries, everybody loves fatty foods. For coyotes, that meal is a blubbery seal pup, according to a new study led by UC Santa Cruz scientists. 🧪🌎🦑

They published the first known videos of California coyotes hunting harbor seals.

New study documents California coyotes eating harbor seal pups

A paper published on February 12 in the journal Ecology details how the researchers used motion-triggered cameras placed at MacKerricher State Beach on California's North Coast during harbor seal pupp...

news.ucsc.edu

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Jan 19

I would love to be added! I'm a science communication student and my personal website is here:

Markdegraff.com

About, The Personal Website of Mark DeGraff

About Me I am Mark DeGraff, a science communicator who specializes in environmental issues.

Markdegraff.com

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Jan 19

Happy #salmonsunday!! 🦑🌎🐟

The Santa Cruz Mountains are home to the world’s southernmost coho salmon runs. Although this population of fish is critically endangered, scientists are finding that they were relatively unaffected by a major wildfire.

Wild Coho Salmon Are Surviving Four Years After CZU Fire

At the southern end of their range, coho salmon in Scott Creek are adapting to wildfire and warming.

www.kneedeeptimes.org

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Jan 15

Coincidentally, I published a story today about how coho salmon in the Santa Cruz mountains proved surprisingly resilient following a 2020 wildfire. Fingers crossed steelhead are the same.

Wild Coho Salmon Are Surviving Four Years After CZU Fire

At the southern end of their range, coho salmon in Scott Creek are adapting to wildfire and warming.

www.kneedeeptimes.org

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Jan 11

Happy #saltmarshsaturday!! 🌎🦑

Salt marshes are powerful tools in the fight against climate change because they trap more carbon than nearly any other ecosystem. In this story, I wrote about the scientists who are measuring how much carbon is stuck in the muck of a northern California salt marsh.

Stuck in the muck: Scientists study carbon trapped by Elkhorn Slough

Salt marshes, which have historically been drained and turned into farms or land ripe for real estate development, are emerging as a powerful tool in the fight against global warming.

www.mercurynews.com

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Jan 9

This is absolutely terrifying

Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Jan 9

It's a bummer that land agencies are using that rationale to remove large trees. It seems like there is a lot of scientific research around forest thinning right now, but the consensus is strong that the older, larger trees must be left alone.

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Jan 9

That's so cool! I love seeing the species that take advantage of the open space created by fire.

Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Jan 8

Walking through a coastal northern California forest that burned a little over 4 years ago.

Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), madrone (Arbutus menziesii) and manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp) are THIRVING. 🌎🌿🔥

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Mark Ranger @markr4nger.bsky.social · Jan 7

Young trees and saplings are choking out many forests in the western United States after 150 years of grazing and fire supression. I really enjoyed reporting on this Navajo-led project to reverse these changes. 🌎

Students and scientists collaborate to maintain Navajo Nation forests

Surviving desert heat, alpine cold, and meager rainfall each year, two-needle pinyon pines (Pinus edulis) are the backbone of many forests in the southwestern United States. Their stout branches offer...

news.mongabay.com

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