Recently burned pine flatwood habitat at the Babcock Ranch, Florida - Photo by Joanne Davis 

Fire

It is counter-intuitive to many, but smokey the bear was quite wrong – at least when it comes to fire-adapted ecosystems.  Fire is a desirable and essential event for many of Florida’s natural systems, as well as for the safety of developed areas.  Fire is part of the natural regime in many Florida ecosystems including pine flatwoods, dry prairies, scrubby flatwoods, sandhills, sand pine scrub and xeric oak scrub.  Even many of Florida’s wetland areas benefit from fires that sweep across their expanses during extended droughts.  

The very nature and evolved plant and animal relationships of many habitat types depend on cyclic regularity of fire, plant growth, fuel accumulation and fire again.  The benefits that frequent fires bring to these ecosystems are a reduction in fuel, an opening of the landscape, a killing-back of certain plant species and a release of nutrients and the stimulation of new growth (a number of plant species have evolved to go too seed only after a fire). The changes that fire causes in plant community structure are essential for many species of wildlife. Without periodic fire, the type and distribution of plant communities change in these habitats and they become increasingly unsuitable for native wildlife adapted to these environments. Additionally without periodic fire, fuel loads accumulate and extremely disastrous fires occur during drought years that destroy or damage both human and wildlife habitats. Where prescribed burns are regularly and properly conducted a smaller fuel load remains than under periodic wildfire conditions and native adapted wildlife and human settlement areas are sustained with limited damage.

In many areas the natural fire cycle has been disturbed and benefits of fire have been removed from the fire dependant ecosystems. The main reasons for this change are sprawling land uses and a developed culture of fire suppression which maintained that the best way to eliminate damaging fires was to suppress fires. 

In Florida and around the nation this has led to dangerous fuel load accumulation with the potential for fires to burn out of control when ignited affecting rural and suburban communities.  Human community conflicts to fire-adapted ecosystems may include, in addition to obvious property damage or destruction, the temporary reduction in air quality caused by smoke that affecting human health and smoke encroachment onto roadways reducing visibility and contributing to accidents. 

Repeated wildfires damaging both Florida’s ecosystem dynamics and developed areas has lead to the crafting and adoption of a design and management approach known as “Firewise”. This design and management approach seeks to strike a balance between known ecological benefits of regular fires across many of Florida’s landscapes and the pragmatic realities that our human developments must be designed to be safe and sustained within fire the dependent ecosystems.  The aspects of Firewise development design are well covered by a 2004 publication developed by the Florida Departments of Community Affairs and Agriculture and Consumer Services entitled, “Wildfire Mitigation in Florida – Land use Planning strategies and best development practices.”

Firewise community planning and development design actions to address the realities of coexisting fire adapted ecosystems and human settlement areas can incorporate the following actions:

• Preservation of Critical Smoke Dispersal Areas (CSDAs?) or important smoke sheds that are essential for the safe and effective dispersal of smoke resulting from prescribed fire. These areas are identified through GIS mapping and delineate portions of the landscape needed for smoke dispersal dependent upon the spatial context of the fire use area and the ambient wind direction patterns used for prescribed fire.  Proper growth design should avoid placement or properly locate critical smoke targets such as airports, schools, hospitals and roadways within these historic dispersal areas.  Uses such as agriculture, silviculture, low density residential development, and appropriately designed and configured roadways may be appropriate within these areas.
• Developed areas adjacent or proximate to managed lands receiving ecological burns may be zoned via an overlay noting the realities of regular burns and a “Notice of Proximity” issued. This notice is recorded in the deed or rental agreement on all properties within the overlay zoned area boundary.  It makes all property owners aware that the managed area is within close proximity and that there are certain practices regularly take place such as prescribed fire (and thus smoke and increased fire risk), pesticide usage, heavy machinery usage, removal of exotic plants and animals;
• For developments within fire dependent ecosystems not only should habitat be saved but a minimum 30 ft buffer for a fire line should be saved adjacent to habitat as well due the periodic construction of fire lines separating developed areas and preserved habitat.
• The Firewise Practices (http://www.firewise.org http://www.fl-dof.com/wildfire/firewise_your_home.html need to be incorporated in any subdivision built within fire dependent ecosystems. The lack of these types of practices make it harder to do prescribe burns or protect homes and lives from wildfires.
• Stormwater ponds, trails, or other open space may be placed along outer edge of developed areas adjacent to managed lands to act a fire breaks;
• Conservation subdivision designs can be employed wherein the common area set-aside is strategically placed as a stepwise fire break between the managed fire-adapted area and the developed area;
• Regular elimination and control of exotic plants that may contribute to the fuel load can be programmed; and,
• Hydrology restoration for altered, over-drained land and habitats proximate to developed or developing areas can be instituted. This is often possible as old agricultural areas are urbanizing or suburbanizing. 

Graphic of Disney Wilderness Preserve with Critical Smoke Dispersal Areas

Management Guidelines & Legal Authority to Conduct Prescribed Burns

From a wildlife and habitat perspective before development dominated the Florida landscape, fires were generally ignited by lightening strikes with the intensity of the fire varying by plant community and frequency varying from 1 to 40 years.  Today, the principal management tool to supplement wildfire's role in perpetuating such communities is the “prescribed ecological burn” (i.e., a controlled burn which promotes ecological benefits), mechanical treatments, herbicides, and biomass removal. The next section identifies the primary community and wildlife habitat benefits of, and legal requirements governing, prescribed ecological burning.

In many instances, prescribed burning is by far the most cost effective treatment to reduce fuel loads.  In Florida, prescribed burning is authorized by Chapter 590, Florida Statutes and Chapter 5I-2 of the Florida Administrative Code, commonly known as the Florida Prescribed Burning Act.  The statute includes two sets of provisions regulating prescribed burning, one for non-certified burners, and another for certified prescribed burn managers. A “certified prescribed burn manager” is a person that has completed the Division of Forestry (DOF) prescribed burning certification program and: can be authorized to conduct burns under the sensitive, open, and forest and range categories; can within each authorization category burn under a less restrictive air dispersion criteria; and, enjoy increased liability protection. Under the Florida Prescribed Burning Act, prescribed burning must:

• Be performed only when at least one certified prescribed burn manager is present on site;
• Require a written prescription (a plan for starting and controlling a prescribed burn) be prepared prior to receiving authorization from DOF to burn;
• Be in the public interest and not cause a public or private nuisance when conducted pursuant to state/local air pollution statutes and rules applicable to prescribed burning; and,
• Be considered a property right of the property owner if naturally occurring (vegetative) fuels are used and when conducted pursuant to the Act's provisions.

As long as these provisions are fulfilled, no one can be held liable for injury or damage caused by a fire unless negligence can be proven.

The Florida Division of Forestry has an Internet Smoke Screening Tool (SST). Anyone can use the tool, but it is primarily designed to allow individuals who are planning on conducting acreage or pile burning to view a predicted smoke plume for the planned burn. As long as all burn parameters are the same, you will see the same plume with the Smoke Screening Tool that the Division of Forestry Duty Officer sees when they issue or deny an official authorization. Note though that to obtain a burn authorization, you still need to call the Division of Forestry District Office in your area. The Smoke Screening Tool does not authorize a burn.

Ecosystem Benefits of Prescribed Burning
For wildlife and habitats there are many benefits from fire. There are many species of plants and animals that require periodic fire to maintain habitat conditions needed for their survival. For example, the Florida scrub jay and red-cockaded woodpecker are each dependent upon fire to maintain suitable habitat conditions (both listed as endangered species). In the absence of fire, habitat conditions change and the diversity and abundance of wildlife eventually declines.

The idea behind prescribed fire for fire-adapted ecosystems is that regular landscape fires are not destructive to the prevailing habitat types and in fact burning acts to sustain the native composition and density of vegetation, reducing competing invasive plants, controls pest problems and opens space for tree regeneration, wildlife feeding and travel.  Even when fire kills trees, positive wildlife benefits can be found in that many cavity nesting birds depend upon dead, decaying trees. Other species, known as secondary cavity nesters, depend upon these nest sites after they have been abandoned for their nesting and life requirements. Further, decaying trees attract insects that are fed upon by many species of wildlife. The decay process also returns important organic material and nutrients to the soil.

Surprisingly, wildlife begins to use burned areas immediately following a fire, often literally before the smoke clears. Observations include a wide variety of species; white-tailed deer, tortoises, snakes, and all manner of bird life in areas immediately following a fire. Of course the response of wildlife varies, depending primarily upon the severity and size of the fire. For example, wildfires that burn out of control in areas with high fuel loads may remove many species of plants and may reduce or delay the extent to which wildlife repopulate the burn site. Periodic prescribed fires, on the other hand, maintain lower fuel loads, typically burn cooler, and may leave more patches of unburned vegetation. These unburned patches of vegetation provide both refuge from the fire and hiding cover during the immediate post-fire recovery process. The post-fire recovery process is influenced by fire intensity, type of habitat, and patterns of rainfall.  

Recently burned areas actually attract many species of wildlife and seem to have little effect on use by others. Tender shoots from re-sprouting shrubs and herbaceous vegetation that emerge following a fire are highly nutritious and attract wildlife such as white-tailed deer and other herbivores. Fruit production is also stimulated by fire, resulting in increased availability of seeds and berries that provide food for many species of wildlife. Predators too, are attracted to these areas, presumably in response to the abundance of prey. Recently-burned areas also are important feeding areas for chicks of ground foraging species, such as turkey and bobwhite quail. The rapid recovery of vegetation, the apparent ability for most species of wildlife to use recently burned areas, and the high-quality habitat provided during post-fire recovery indicate that fire enhances wildlife habitat in Florida’s fire-adapted habitats. Fire in Florida, therefore, represents not devastation, but renewal of wildlife habitats.

In this regard, to most closely mimic the natural regime, controlled burns are generally conducted during the lightening season (May-June).  Nevertheless, season timing of a burn is site specific and specific to particular management goals. Further, the return frequency of controlled burns for and area should strive to mimic the natural fire adapted ecology regime.  The DOF’s Basics Prescribed Fire Training Manual for maintaining natural communities and wildlife habitat provides recommended burring frequencies for different habitat types.

Fire in the Suburbs: Ecological Impacts of Prescribed Fire in Small Remnants of Longleaf Pine Sandhill

Logging, fire suppression, and urbanization have all contributed to the serious decline and fragmentation of the longleaf pine ecosystems in Florida and the southeastern United States. Management practices (or lack thereof) have led to replacement of many longleaf pine savannas by closed-canopy forests dominated by oaks and other hardwoods. Effective management of the remaining patches of these fire adapted communities must incorporate periodic low-intensity fires, even where they are located on private lands in populated urban and suburban areas.  Research has demonstrated that prescribed fire can be used for restoration and management of small remnants of longleaf pine sandhill in suburban neighborhoods. It is also clear that although a single prescribed burn can be effective, it will take more than one burn to attain desired restoration goals in degraded longleaf remnants.

Approximately 75% of the remaining longleaf pine lands occur in stands less than 100 acres; about one-third are less than or equal to 20 acres. Most remaining longleaf pine habitats are on private lands. Many of these areas are in ecological decline and are being lost in suburban settings, partially because people are uninformed about how longleaf pine ecosystems can be maintained. One conservation option is to work to preserve or restore the multitude of small fragments that remain. Although it is comparatively easier to maintain the ecological integrity of larger tracts of forest, these small habitat "islands" can provide effective demonstrations the benefits of restoration and management of natural ecosystems. Small habitat remnants, even in highly fragmented areas, can play critical roles in the preservation of biological diversity though management plans are needed for these longleaf pine remnants located within suburban areas.

These areas are small and are likely to require labor-intensive management to maintain or enhance sandhill species' population sizes and diversity, reduce hardwood densities, and prevent further invasion of native hardwoods and exotic species. Prescribed fire is a cost-effective and ecologically beneficial tool that can be used to achieve these objectives. Where longleaf pine ecosystem restoration is the goal, herbicide and mechanical treatments in addition to prescribed burns are the standard treatments used to reduce dense hardwood midstories that occur as a result of fire suppression. Although herbicides and mechanical treatments are effective in eliminating unwanted plants, each can be significantly more costly than prescribed burning. Furthermore, herbicides can be toxic to wildlife and wiregrass, a keystone component of longleaf pine ecosystems, is adversely affected by mechanical treatments.

Research shows that prescribed fire can be a viable and effective land management tool in small habitat remnants. However, it is also evident that after many years of fire prevention it will take more than one prescribed burn before a degraded remnant of a fire adapted ecosystem can be "restored." Multiple prescribed burns may be necessary to achieve this goal. The impacts of additional fires can be enhanced by selective removal or thinning of dense areas of hardwoods; many degraded sandhills will likely require the use of multiple management tools.

Adapted from: Fire in the Suburbs: Ecological Impacts of Prescribed Fire in Small Remnants of Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) Sandhill. By, Kimberly A. Heubergerand and Francis E. Putz, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

References

            Florida Department of Community Affairs & Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. (2004). Wildfire mitigation in Florida: Land use planning strategies and best development practices. Tallahassee, FL: Florida Department of Community Affairs.

            Florida Division of Forestry. (2006). Interagency basic prescribed fire training manual. [Electronic version]?. http://www.fl-dof.com/wildfire/rx_training.html.

            Florida Division of Forestry. (2007). Current forestry programs and services. http://www.fl-dof.com/field_operations/caloosahatchee_current_work.html.

            Hillsborough County. (n.d.). Development review procedures manual: Sec. 4.1.6.1.6 Habitat Management Guidelines. [Electronic Version]? http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/pgm/resources/publications/zoning/drpm.pdf

            Kemmerer, M. (n.d.) Use of fire to manage wildlife habitat: A case study on the Babcock/Webb WMA. http://wildlifeandag.wec.ufl.edu/documents/USE%20OF%20FIRE%20TO%20MANAGE%20WILDLIFE%20HABITAT.pdf.

            Long, A. (2002). Prescribed burning regulations in Florida. University of Florida, IFAS, FOR 67. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FRO55.

            Long, A. (2006). Benefits of prescribed burning. University of Florida, IFAS, FOR70. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FR061

            Main, M.B. & Tanner, G.W. (2003). Effects of fire on Florida’s wildlife and wildlife habitat. University of Florida, IFAS, WEC137. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW132

            Monroe, M.C. & Marynowski, S. (2006). Developing land in Florida with fire in mind: Recommendations for designers, developers, and decision makers. University of Florida, IFAS, FOR63. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FR059

            Robertson, K. (2007). Wildland fire and climate change in Florida. Conversations on climate change, June 12, 2007.  Presentation to the Florida Cabinet.

            Stewart, D. (n.d.). Prescribed burning in southern pine forest: Fire ecology, techniques, and uses for wildlife management. Mississippi State University Extension Services. http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p2283.pdf.

            U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (n.d.a). Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge: History of fire in the Everglades and prescribed fire management. http://www.fws.gov/loxahatchee/Biology/firemanagement.asp

            U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (n.d.b). Timber management at Carolina Sandhills NWR. http://www.fws.gov/carolinasandhills/timbermanagement.html.

            Zachman, D. (n.d.) Mechanical treatments to meet resource needs. http://www.blm.gov/nstc/resourcenotes/rn67.html.

1. Effects of Fire on Florida's Wildlife and Wildlife Habitat, from UF.

2. Developing Ecological Criteria for Prescribed Fire in South Florida Pine Rocklands. This is the introductory page for a study done by Florida International University scientists on one of the most endangered ecosystems in Florida. Download the pdf file by clicking the link on the page, about 3MBs.

3. Fire in South Florida Ecosystems. A USDA Department of Forestry study on the effects of fire on south Florida wild lands, it includes expected results depending on burn season, intensity, and other factors. Can be a source of practical information for land managers in assessing fire as a management tool. Click on the link on the introduction page. The pdf file is large, about 28 MBs?, with lots of detailed information.

4. Effects of Prescribed Burning on Amphibian Diversity in a Southeastern U.S. National Forestby, Jamie M. Schurbonand John E. Fauth.

5. Prescribed Ecological Burns - Background and Legal Requirements - This is adapted directly from the Hillsbourogh County land development code.  Within they provide a good discussion of the needs, rationale and guidelines they use for Prescribed Ecological Burns.

6. Wildfire Mitigation in Florida: Land Use Planning Strategies and Best Development Practices, April 2004. The guide examines the role of planning in community wildfire mitigation efforts and includes planning strategies and information about the regulatory framework (147 pages).

7. Fire in the Suburbs: Ecological Impacts of Prescribed Fire in Small Remnants of Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) Sandhill, by Kimberly A. Heuberger Department of Botany, University of Florida and Francis E. Putz Department of Botany, University of Florida.