Fire and Habitat
Fire often is associated with its negative consequences. People mainly think of burned houses and property when they think of fire, but in nature, fire can be a positive force. What might be perceived as devastation is actually an important and habitat renewing process.
Prescribed vs. Wildfires
Florida’s wildfire season occurs from mid-April through July. Most of these fires are lightning set, and were quite frequent before suppression policies came into effect. These natural wildfires burned at a low intensity and covered large areas where rivers and wetlands were spread out.
In contrast, prescribed wildfires are fires that are set purposely for reasons such as habitat maintenance or even prevention of natural wildfires. Prescribed fires are most often set between December and March when wind patterns are predictable and the days are cool. Prescribed fires set during the lightning and natural fire season behave more like natural wildfires and are difficult to control.
Dependent Ecosystems
Many Florida habitats only exist due to the presence of wildfires. Some are caused by frequent periodic cycles, others by a few big fires decades apart.
- Longleaf Pine-Turkey Oak Sandhills Fires every two to four years maintain pine dominance and wiregrass
- Sand Pine-Scrub Oak Complexes High intensity fires every ten to sixty years maintain pine-oak mixtures
- Pine-Saw Palmetto Flatwoods Fires every two to four years keep shrubs out of the understory and maintain pines and wire and bluestem grasses
- Rockland Pine Forests Fires every three to seven years allow important herbaceous natives to grow and keep hardwood hammock species from invading
- Wet Dry Prairies Fires every two to five years promote flowering of grasses and herbaceous plants and reduce shrub invasion
Fires in these ecosystems maintain a specific balance of plant species, which in turn provides specific foods and shelter for animals. Gopher tortoises, red cockaded woodpeckers, key deer, scrub jays, quail, and Sherman’s fox squirrels are just some of the species that rely on fires to preserve their habitat.
Fires can kill animals, but it does not pose a significant threat to wildlife. High intensity, uncontrollable fires pose a greater risk, but even then, mortality is low. Mammals are highly mobile and avoid the fire, and ground nesting birds will often re-nest.
Benefits of Fire
Fires are important for land management, and prescribed burns can provide the benefits of wildfires with less risk.
- Promotes flowering and fruiting of plant species
- Improves nutritional quality and nutrient cycling of soil
- Maintains habitat conditions for fire-adapted plants and animals
- Creates “mosaic” habitats- heterogeneous and diverse patches within a larger area
- Prevents devastating wildfire conditions- accumulation of highly flammable dead vegetation
It is important to remember that after a fire, while the land may look like a charred wasteland, animals and plants return in abundance. Fire adapted plants often return to pre-fire levels within a year of being burned. Tender shoots in revegetating areas attract animals that feed on the nutritious sprouts. What may seem like fire caused habitat degradation and wildlife displacement is only temporary.
Fires are a natural and important force for Florida’s environment. Fires themselves can prevent devastating wildfires that can invade rural and urban communities. Using natural and prescribed fire as a land management tool can reduce risk to human communities while renewing wildlife habitats.
Adapted and excerpted from:
G.W. Tanner, W.R. Marion, and J.J. Mullahey, Understanding Fire: Nature’s Land Management Tool (CIR1018), UF/IFAS Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department (rev. 10/2008).
Martin Main and George Tanner, Effects of Fire on Florida’s Wildlife and Wildlife Habitat (WEC 137), UF/IFAS Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department (rev. 8/2009).
