We all know how destructive wildfires can be, so it’s no surprise that we usually go out of our way to prevent them, says Christian Dunn.
But fire is an important factor in physically shaping landscapes; it controls the vegetation and even affects animal behaviour.
Indeed, the diversity of wildlife across fire-prone regions, such as Florida, is dependent on wildfires. These events dictate the size and range of different habitats, and many trees and plants, such as the longleaf pine, need fire to complete their life-cycles.
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Burning also helps to clear the ground of dead and overgrown brush, releasing nutrients back into the soil and allowing sunlight to reach the ground to stimulate growth.
Animals, too, can benefit from wildfires. The gopher tortoise thrives in the patchy scrubland created by fire, escaping the heat of the inferno by retreating into the long burrows that it routinely digs into the sandy soil. Up to 340 other species, from skunks to snakes, seek refuge in these tunnels when a blaze takes hold, making the gopher tortoise an important keystone species.
