#ecosystem-restoration

#ecosystem-restoration

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District will be burning vegetation in the Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve through mid-March to improve fire resiliency. The district is conducting about 50 pile burns to reduce combustible vegetation without having to haul material offsite. The fires will be lit in the mornings in closed areas of the preserve. Crews will monitor the burns throughout the day and make sure they are fully extinguished by evening. Ash and char from the pile burns return essential nutrients to the soil.

It was only when huge areas of Iceland started turning purple that authorities realised they had made a mistake. By then, it was too late. The Nootka lupin, native to Alaska, had coated the sides of fjords, sent tendrils across mountain tops and covered lava fields, grasslands and protected areas. Since it arrived in the 1940s, it has become an accidental national symbol. Hordes of tourists and local people pose for photos in the ever-expanding fields in June and July, entranced by the delicate cones of flowers that cover the north Atlantic island.

"Rewetting bogs is all about reducing the carbon emissions from the bare peatlands," says Doreen King, emphasizing the importance of restoring natural ecosystems for carbon sequestration.