Staff at Wekiwa Springs use prescribed fire to restore and maintain fire-dependent natural communities.
The Role of Wildland Fire
The critical role that fire plays in maintaining many of the earth's ecosystems is now widely recognized. Largely because more lightning strikes occur per square mile in Florida than any other place in North America, fire is one of the primary natural forces under which Florida's land ecosystems have developed. Before there were roads, canals, modern agriculture, or big cities, lightning-set fires frequently swept almost unimpeded across Florida's landscape. Over thousands of years, many natural habitats have evolved under the influence of periodic fire - and are dependent on it.
Restoration and maintenance of such fire-dependent habitats now requires prescribed burning - the mimicking of lightning fires by carefully introducing fire according to detailed control plans called "prescriptions." On average, a little over 33,000 acres of state park lands are burned each year, either by staff application of "prescribed" fire, by naturally occurring fires, or a combination of both.
Preserving Our Natural and Cultural Heritage
As the human population of the state has grown and fire has been increasingly excluded from natural lands, fire-dependent habitats have drastically declined. As a result, many unique plants and animals needing these habitats are disappearing.
The open pineywoods, ever-blooming prairies, and aromatic scrubs of Florida and the unique species they support are an irreplaceable part of the natural and cultural heritage of Florida's citizens. They not only provide a source of enjoyment and inspiration, but continue to play a vital role in shaping the character and spirit of the people of Florida. If our native fire-dependent habitats and species were lost, we would not only lose a critical link to our past, but our quality of life would be seriously diminished.
Biodiversity Conservation
Of Florida's 44 land-based natural community types, 17 are dependent on periodic fire for their continued existence and 16 more benefit from an occasional fire. Without fire, applied at appropriate frequencies and intensities, the entire structure and species composition of such areas gradually changes. Prolonged fire exclusion would ultimately result in loss of Florida's fire-dependent natural communities and the species that depend on them.
Many of Florida's rare and endangered species of plants and animals are dependent on periodic fire for their continued existence. Without periodic fires, species such as the Florida scrub-jay, Sherman's fox squirrel, red-cockaded woodpecker, white-top pitcher-plant, and four-petal pawpaw would disappear forever.
Increased Wildlife Abundance
Prescribed burning of natural lands is known to increase abundance and health of many wildlife species, including native game species such as deer, turkey, and quail.
Read more about Fire Effects on Wildlife from the University of Florida.
Hazard Reduction
Fire-dependent natural communities contain pyrogenic vegetation. In other words, many plant species have characteristics that actually promote the spread of fire. Over time these "fuels" gradually accumulate, making the occurrence of fire increasingly likely. So for much of Florida's wildlands, it is not a question of whether an area will burn or not, but WHEN.
With prolonged fire exclusion, fuel levels can become dangerously high. Under such conditions, a single lightning strike or an ember from a backyard grill can cause a raging wildfire. With prescribed burning, we are able to reduce fuel levels in natural communities under controlled conditions - protecting life, property, and natural resources.
