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Now listen to a part of lecture on the topic you just read about.
現(xiàn)在來聽一段關(guān)于你剛剛讀到的文章的演講。
Actually fires are natural part of the ecological cycle, and their role is not just destructive but also creative.
事實上，火災(zāi)是生態(tài)系統(tǒng)的自然組成部分，而且它們的角色不僅僅是破壞性的，也是建設(shè)性的。
That's why the "let it burn" policy is fundamentally a good one,
那就是為什么“隨它燃燒”政策基本上是好的，
even if it some times causes fires on the scale of the 1988 Yellowstone fire.
盡管有時它會導(dǎo)致像1988年黃石公園大火那樣規(guī)模的火災(zāi)。
Let's look at what happened after the 1988 fires.
我們來看一下1988年火災(zāi)之后發(fā)生了什么。
First, vegetation. As you might imagine, scorched areas were in time colonized by new plants.
首先，植物。你們可以想到，那些燒焦的地方會及時被新的植物占領(lǐng)。
As a matter of fact, the plant life in Yellowstone became more diverse
事實上，黃石的植物區(qū)系變得更加多種多樣，
because the fire created an opportunity for certain plants that could not grow otherwise.
因為另一方面火災(zāi)為某些不能生長的植物創(chuàng)造了機會。
For example, areas where the trees have been destroyed by the fire could now be taking over by smaller plants that needed open unshaded space to grow.
比如，樹木被火災(zāi)摧毀的地方現(xiàn)在被更小的植物所占領(lǐng)，這些植物需要開放無蔭蔽的空間來生長。
And another example, seeds of certain plants species won't germinate unless they're exposed to very high levels of heat,
另一個例子是，某些植物種類的種子不會發(fā)芽，除非它們暴露在非常高的溫度里，
so those plants started appearing after the fire as well.
所以，那些植物也會在火災(zāi)之后開始出現(xiàn)。
It's a similar story with the animals.
動物的故事是相似的。
Not only did their populations recover, but the fire also created new opportunities.
不僅它們數(shù)量會恢復(fù)，而且火災(zāi)也帶來新的機會。
For instance, the small plants that replaced trees after the fire created an ideal habitat for certain small animals like rabbits or hares.
比如，在火災(zāi)之后取代了樹木的小植物給某些像兔子或者野兔這樣的小動物提供了理想的棲息地。
And when the rabbits and hares started thriving, so did some predators that dependent on them for food.
當(dāng)兔子的數(shù)量開始繁榮時，以它們?yōu)槭车牟妒痴咭惨粯印?/div>
So certain food chains actually became stronger after the fire than they were before.
所以，大火過后某些的食物鏈會變得比它們之前更加強大。
And last, fires like the 1988 Yellowstone fires would be a problem for tourism if they happened every year. But they don't.
最后，像1988年的黃石大火會成為一個問題，如果它們每年都發(fā)生的話。但是，它們沒有。
It was a very unusual combination of factors that year.
那一年它是一個非常不尋常的很多因素的組合。
Low rainfall, unusually strong winds, accumulation of dry undergrowth that caused the fire to be so massive.
比如，降水少、罕見的大風(fēng)，以及干灌木叢的聚集使得了那次大火規(guī)模空前。
This combination has not occured since, and Yellowstone has not seen such fires since 1988.
這個組合之后沒有發(fā)生過，而且黃石公園自1988年開始也沒有出現(xiàn)過那樣的火災(zāi)。
Visitors came back to the park next year and each year after that.
游客們次年以及之后的每一年都回到這個公園。
