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Natural Fire

Some ecosystems depend on periodic fires to maintain the habitats which make up the ecosystem. In these fire adapted areas, fire promotes plant and wildlife diversity and burns away accumulations of live and dead plant material (leaves, branches, trees).

FIRE DEPENDENT ECOSYSTEM MAP

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	•	Common in the forests of the Great Lake states.
	•	Natural Fires in this ecosystem usually occur approximately every 125 to 180 years.
	•	Jack pine is well adapted to fire.
	•	Jack pine seeds have been known to still be viable after exposure to heat at 1000 degrees Fahrenheit.
	•	That heat, however, opens the scales of the cone and releases the seed onto the ground where the fire has removed much of the existing vegetation and litter.
	•	Jack pine seeds require contact with mineral soil to germinate, so fire serves to prepare the seedbed, reduce competition from other plants, and release the jack pine seed.

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Fire is Nature's Housekeeper

Fires have burned regularly, consuming vegetation, accumulations of insects and diseases, and triggering a rebirth of forests.

Many plants have evolved adaptations that protect them as a species against the effects of wildland fire, and some are even strengthened by it.

Nearly every region in the country has some kind of fire dependent plant or tree.

Some ecosystems such as deserts are not fire dependent and fire needs to be put out quickly to reduce damage.