Science Lecture Series

Free Science Lecture March 19, 2026. Attend online or in-person. Registration required. Call 518-456-0655 or visit www.AlbanyPineBush.org/events Fire has sustained fire-adapted forests for millennia – the very same tree communities predicted to remain most resilient to future climates. The aboveground contributors to positive feedback driving the persistence of these communities remains well-documented – fire effects on microclimate and fuel dynamics both act to promote fire-adapted trees. How fire may affect belowground properties to promote fire-adapted trees, however, remains poorly understood. These results suggest that fire increases the availability of cations like calcium and manganese and lowers the availability of nitrogen along with heavy metals like copper and aluminum to promote the success of a known pyrophytic seedling – pitch pine. This offers novel insight into our understanding of how fire allows for the recovery and persistence of fire-adapted ecosystems, and offers new management opportunities to fine-tune fire to optimize belowground effects.

This lecture is being offered in a hybrid format.
Registration required. Call 518-456-0655 or visit www.AlbanyPineBush.org/events