Regeneration of Forest and Barrens after the Spryfield Fire of April 30, 2009

A set of photos illustrates the regeneration of vegetation over 16 months after an intense fire swept through forest and barrens in the vicinity of Spryfield, Nova Scotia on April 30, 2009. The fire destroyed twelve homes.

The materials were prepared by Richard Beazley and David Patriquin for a talk given to the Halifax Field Naturalists (HFN) on September 2, 2010. The text, with a few modifications to suit the web page format, is taken from their report for HFN's quarterly newsletter, the Halifax Field Naturalist. (David and Richard are members of HFN.)

David and Richard visited two areas affected by the fire:
  • the Purcells Cove Conservation Lands which lie in a strip extending from Purcells Cove to Flat Lake approximately 1 km inland
  • the Lower Mud Pond area which lies on Crown land close to Purcells Cove Road just past York Redoubt.
They visited and took photos in these areas at one to two month intervals through the spring, summer and fall of 2009 and again in 2010.

The photos illustrate the rapid regeneration of vegetation after the fire. The prominence of two fire-dependent species. jack pine and broom crowberry, highlight the fire-susceptible nature of this landscape.

Please send any corrections or comments to hfninfo@yahoo.ca.

forest