Because this article contains one of the many effects of burning, its inclusion in the cannon of literature is important.
Houston, Douglas B. (1971). Ecosystems of National Parks. Science. 127 (3984), 648-
Though Douglas B. Houston's article is older than some, its topic is one that does not necessarily require a modern time stamp. Additionally, this article that discusses national park maintenance was written before the great fire in Yellowstone National Park. For those writing about controlled burning, this gives a unique example of the opinions of maintenance and the ecosystem before the fire, which allows the researcher to make comparisons between the pre and post-fire opinion. Other relevant information in the article is a detailed discussion of the parks' ecosystems, and a conclusion that the destructive activities of humans are especially dangerous for the park. In addition, the article points out the difference between national park maintenance and maintenance of other types of land, such as agricultural land. As the author of the article is a representative of the National Park Service and the article has been cited numerous times in other scholarly works, the author's credibility is established.
Romme, William H. And Knight, Dennis H. (1982). Landscape Diversity: The Concept Applied to Yellowstone Park. BioScience. 32 (8), 664-670.
In this article, the authors discuss changes in landscape patterns, and how these changes affect natural features including "wildlife abundance, nutrient flow, and lake productivity" (664). Though this may not seem relevant to controlled burning at first, landscape patterns are intrinsically important to the ecosystem of any national park. Landscape patterns also have a direct impact...
This article will be an important research for those who believe it is important to discuss planting and planning after the controlled or prescribed burn. Additionally, the article describes prescribed burning and some of its effects, including effects on nutrition and plant and animal life. Finally, the article is easy to read and chalk full of facts, numbers, and information about the park. As a reference, therefore, it is useful if only for fact-finding purposes.
Turner, Monica G., Romme, William H., and Tinker, Daniel B. (2003). Surprises and Lessons from the 1988 Yellowstone Fires. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 1(7), 351-358.
For ecologists, naturalists, park personnel, and those living in Wyoming, the 1988 Yellowstone Fires were a monumental experience. When discussing prescribed burning, therefore, scholars continue to return to the fires for inspiration and research purposes. Written by at least two of the leading experts on controlled burning and the Yellowstone Fires, this article discusses the surprises levied by the 1988 Yellowstone Fires. These were mainly positive surprises, such as plant life growing rapidly, and the fact that human restoration in the area was not necessary. By studying the wealth of information available about the fires that was discussed in the last fifteen years, the scholars are applying the information they discovered due to the 1988 fires to prescribed burning and forest fires in other areas. Because this article is written by experts in the field and addresses the real-life effects of prescribed burning, this article is an excellent addition to the collection of research about controlled burns in Yellowstone National Park.
