Article content

Yes, climate change is real. But researchers say there’s another factor likely feeding the flames eating up Alberta’s forests.

The widespread practice of killing aspen trees, which forestry companies mechanically remove or spray with herbicide from helicopters, is also having an impact.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Elise Stolte: Herbicide, killing of aspen likely shares blame for growing wildfire damage Back to video

Aspen are the trees with white bark and small, fluttering green leaves that grow in clumps or colonies around Edmonton and through northern Alberta. They’re less likely to burn than spruce or pine and cool the forest so well that, when fully-leafed out, wildland firefighters flee to a stand of aspen if the fire unexpectedly shifts.

They’re also food for moose in winter.

Different trees have different wood fibres. Forestry companies consider aspen to be a weed when growing conifers, spruce or pine. So roughly 30,000 hectares a year of forest are sprayed with glyphosate, the active ingredient in RoundUp. That’s roughly half the size of Edmonton or 40 per cent of the 80,000 hectares of forest harvested annually.