How Fire Helps Plants in the Everglades
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Fire is a natural part of the Everglades ecosystem. Wildfires caused by lightning strikes have occurred frequently throughout the Everglades' history. You might think that these fires are destructive and damaging to the plants of the Everglades. In reality, fire helps plants in the Everglades in many ways.
Pinelands
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The pinelands are one of many different types of terrain found in the Everglades---one that is particularly dependent on fire. The dominant species of the pinelands are slash pines, saw palmetto and cabbage palms. All of these plants are fire resistant.
When a moderate fire burns in the pinelands, it destroys other vegetation, but most of these plants survive. In fact, they thrive in the open and sunny conditions that result from having other plants burned away.
Without occasional fires, the pinelands would be taken over by other forms of plant life. These other plants include some that are native to the Everglades but also invasive species like the old-world climbing fern that were brought to the region from elsewhere.
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Marshes and Prairies
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Other habitats in the Everglades can also benefit from fire because it burns through areas that have become overgrown and opens them up again. This allows water to flow through more freely and a wider variety of plants to flourish. Totch Brown, who lived in the Everglades for decades, describes it this way: "When we used to burn regularly, every other year or so, the sawgrass was not so heavily matted as it is now, and it burned like wild fire. ... Within three days there were green shoots coming up right out of the burn and the ground wasn't even scorched."
Fire Management
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The Everglades National Park was established in 1947. According to the National Park Service, at the time the importance of fire to the ecosystem there was not well understood. The Park Service tried to prevent or put out all fires.
Over time scientists realized that fires are essential to the region. In the present day, wildfires may be allowed to burn if they are not dangerous. The Park Service also sets prescribed fires. Also called controlled burns, these are fires deliberately started and then handled in a controlled manner by the Park Service. They are an attempt to mimic the natural effects of fires in areas where it would be unsafe to let wildfires burn.
While fire can help the plants of the Everglades in many ways, it can hurt them, too. When a fire is severe enough, it can destroy even fire-resistant plants like the saw palmetto. Fires in the Everglades can also spread into inhabited areas, destroying homes and threatening lives. Setting unauthorized fires in the Everglades is arson, a serious crime.
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