Photopoint BRCE07 — Following Fire

Introduction to Chronosequence:

Repeated photography of the same scene over seasons and years has long been used by artists and scientists to document landscape change. This technique is especially relevant after major scene-changing events, such as wildfire, volcanic eruptions, and human land use activities. For this project, we selected 25 distinct photopoints that represent different forest conditions. During the first three years we photographed each photopoint 17 times in order to record the changing landscape following the fire. Here is a sampling of the most interesting changes. Note the abundance of vegetation, its changes over seasons and years, the collapse of dead and living trees, and signs of the uncertain future – climate change, invasive species, and intensive forestry. And note your own emotional responses as you view the changes in the land.

Photopoint BRCE07

Rotten stumps and logs on the ground are legacies of the old forest logged here many decades ago. The 2020 fire cleared the understory and killed all the conifers in this dry, upland site, revealing the complex forest of young conifers and the cluster of large bigleaf maple trunks on the right. This photopoint was chosen in part for the visual qualities of its depth of field, but, in selecting it for chronosequence photography, we did not anticipate the dramatic change that took place a year after the fire.

12/20 Not a speck of greenery has appeared yet. A 6’4” human figure near and far gives a sense of scale.

03/21 The area is still bare, a reflection of dry site conditions.

08/21 Herbs and ferns are returning – both survivors from the pre-fire understory and pioneer species. Some plants wiggle in the breeze. The maple cluster on the right begins to sprout from the base.

11/21 Wow! The forest has been logged and scrap wood was left in piles for later burning. The solitary figure has returned to the same position as in 12/20.

08/22 Here in the second summer after the fire and the first after logging, many species are returning, especially maples sprouting from root systems.

10/23. Foliage of maple sprouts (right) and hazel (lower left) is starting to obscure the view. Large clumps of maple sprouts are in their autumn yellow both in the clearcut and the forest.