Fire Facts

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Fire Facts
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Wildland Fire

• 90 of wildland fires are started by humans! Some
  are arson (started on purpose), most are
  accidental
• 10 started by lightening
• Lightening temperatures can reach more than
  50,000 F

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The fire triangle
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Fire Effects on Soil - Benefits

• Nutrients recycled
• Nitrogen fixing plants grow a lot after a fire -
  restores Nitrogen in soil
• Bacteria replenish quickly
• Increases plant growth

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Fire Effects on Soil harmful effects

• Causes erosion of soil
• Heating of the soil too much causes nutrients to
  vaporize
• Increases soil pH
• Kills soil microorganisms

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Fire Effects on Water

• Benefits
• Water quality returns quickly - the only
  benefit

• Harmful Effects
• Sediment increases - kills aquatic animals/plants
• If canopy of forest gone, water temp increases
• Higher temperatures reduces oxygen content of
  water

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Fire Effects on Wildlife

• Vertebrates usually escape a fire
• Plant growth stimulated more food
• More diversity in vegetation more animals

• Kills animals - mostly small animals and
  invertebrates
• Decreases aquatic animals, kills eggs
• Invertebrates decrease in number

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Fire effects on Plants

• Giant Sequoia/Redwoods- fire resistant bark
• Gets rid of disease
• Destroys insect vectors for disease
• Helps plants reproduce

• Fire scars on trees (damage)
• Reduces value of trees (economic)
• Smoke injury
• If the fire is hot enough, will kill the entire
  tree

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Fire Effects on Disease

• Diseased trees are burned during a fire and
  disease is removed or lessened in the ecosystem

• Can encourage root rot fungus (spores are
  stimulated by heat of fire)
• Damaged trees can be more susceptible to disease
  and fungus

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Giant Sequoia are adapted to fire

• Thick, fire-resistant bark
• Deep roots
• High branches
• Thick trunks

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In conclusion..

• Frequent, low intensity fires keep sites open so
  they are less likely to burn intensely, even
  under sever fire weather conditions
• Fires are likely to be more intense over time if
  a forest has been protected from them

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Ecological Succession
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Ecological Succession

• Disturbance of some sort (fire, flood, etc)
• Dominant plants removed and other species reseed.
  
• As succession proceeds, plant species change
• If plant species change, animal species change

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Succession in a Forest

• Fire kills a portion of canopy trees
• Surviving trees occur in patches (or not at all)
• In places where trees survive, shade tolerant
  species will reseed and flourish
• In places where trees are gone, sun tolerant
  species will reseed and flourish
• The succession of an ecosystem is a constant
  process - always changing.