Fire and It's Impact on the Ecosystem
Approximately, one month ago the news media was rife with details ofproblems caused by escalating fires that swept through forested areas inSouthern California. (Kennedy, 2003) The newsreels teemed with instancesof people whose houses had burned down or were in danger of being burneddown. Naturally, one feels for these people deprived of their home andhearth by devastating effects of the fire. On the other hand, one mustrecognize the facts that not only are forest fires natural, they are a wayfor the earth to maintain ecological balance. Fires replenish the earth bydoing away with the unwanted underbrush that threatens to suffocate thelonger living plants by depriving the earth of aeration and nourishingwater. It will be shown in this work that the plants have adapted tofires. Indeed, some plants have evolved to fuel the fires. Other plantshave evolved to suppress fires. Still other plants have evolved toflourish in fires-their seeds only germinate after a fire. Plants are theprimary providers in the food chain. Therefore, the flora of a region isthe primary cause of the primary line of defense wherever natural fires are
Fire management should vary depending on climatic andecological features of a certain region. They believe that crown firesthat affect certain types of pine are inevitable. It is only under extreme conditions thataspen populations can be totally rooted out of an area. They survive during fires while competitors do not. This also means that the grassesand plants that grow after a fire possess greater nutrients. Mistletoes are so named because theirseeds are dispersed by the mistletoe bird. Prescribed fires have been commonly used in order to enhanceconditions for elks to flourish. They also suggest "mechanical thinning" ofthese forests to control the spread and intensity of fires. The loss of this species also resulted in theloss of biodiversity. But we have noidea of the long term consequences of this. Lower moisture content is commensuratewith higher flammability. Before trying to understand the role of fires on specific plants, itbears understanding of the role of humans in unbalancing the ecosystem byunwitting and good-intentioned interference. If the native species' populations are to be maintained,controlled burns during the best growth season eliminate new species ofplants which tend to grow earlier than native plants.
Common topics in this essay:
Native Americans,
Gilmore Isles,
Arizona Fires,
Society America,
Wright Bailey,
Red-tailed Hawks,
California Kennedy,
Ontario Canada,
Mature Douglas-firs,
White Butterfield,
fire management,
prescribed fires,
crown fires,
fire suppression,
susceptible fires,
gambel oak,
fires fires,
fires plants,
frequent fires,
plants evolved,
protected hard shells,
fire management teams,
fires kill mistletoes,
ecological society america,
frequent fires occur,
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Acceptance Essays
