The smaller trees compete for water and nutrients with large ponderosa pines and other conifers that provide important habitat for wildlife both in their crowns and on the open, plant-covered forest floor that typically surrounds their trunks. The smaller trees also provide “ladder fuels,” a ready pathway for fires that historically stayed on the ground to climb into the tree canopy, causing fires that burn too hot, reach too high, and quickly become unmanageable.
Read the full National Forest Foundation blog about the benefits of forest treatments.
