Amazing that 70% of Florida's 9 million acres of conservation land depends on fire for survival. Naturally with fire suppression they saw many of their native species threatened and endangered. Now resource managers are trying a different approach with central Florida fire staff and fire staff from Spain, they are conducting prescribed burns at locations like the flatwoods on the preserve at Disney World.
Nature Conservancy
One of the many species of plants that is responding to these burns is the pitcher plant. There are several subspecies of the pitcher plant in Florida that are listed as endangered. Historically, these areas of Florida had frequent summer fires resulting from lightning. With fire suppression a succession of other plant species out-competes the pitcher plant. The prescribed fires are knocking back the growth of these competitive species and allowing the pitcher plant to resprout and flourish.
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/florida/howwework/florida-restoring-fire-to-native-landscapes.xml
Hi Bobbie,
ReplyDeleteI love that you did something a little different than the rest of us on this topic by focusing on a specific area. I don't usually think of Florida as a forested area needing fire management, so this really showed me something new. Bravo!
Thank you!
ReplyDelete