Deciduous trees like birch and aspen live for about 100 years, so the team couldn't simply wait for one or two centuries to find out what happens in the forest.
Coming suddenly round a corner into a glade of silver birch trees Edmund saw the ground covered in all directions with little yellow flowers - celandines.
So after a severe fire, the environment is better suited for deciduous tree species like birch and aspen to get a foothold. These trees grow much faster.