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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 northeastern states, especially on sandy soils.
	•	Natural fires occur in pitch pine barrens every 6 to 25 years.
	•	Many of these fires are severe, pushed by the wind from one tree crown to the next.
	•	Pitch pine has thick bark that protects it from heat. It can sprout back after fire, and it reproduces from seeds in cones that are opened by fire.
	•	Pitch pine barrens are home to many rare plants and insects, turtles and frogs. Some of these organisms require fire to shape their habitat or to survive competition from other species.
	•	If many years go by without fire, pitch pine barrens accumulate large amounts of dead wood and pine needles, which can make the next fire too severe for the pines and other fire-dependent species to survive.

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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.