USES OF NATURAL AREAS 



35 



There are certain benefits which may 

 be attributed to fires including: first, 

 favorable effects upon certain plants 

 which find a greater abundance of 

 nutrients in burned over tracts, such as 

 blueberries and huckleberries; second, 

 the improvement of forage by the re- 

 moval of the stiff stems of the previous 

 year's growth, permitting grazing ani- 

 mals to get at the young and succulent 

 herbage; and third, improvement of 

 reproduction by burning off grass or 

 heavy leaf litter, thus giving a better 

 chance for the germination of tree seeds. 



Even "light burning" which has been 

 advocated by some in order to keep the 

 forest floor clean of litter, as a safeguard 

 against more serious fires, upon investi- 

 gation has been shown to bring about 

 injury due to removal of nitrogen from 

 the soil, change in soil texture, in- 

 creased evaporation, and the scarring 

 of trees, which paves the way for the 

 attacks of fungi and wood-boring in- 

 sects. It is decidedly a question if 

 fires can serve any useful purpose in 

 forestry, while on the other hand they 

 constitute an ever-present menace. 



The relation of fires to plant succession 

 is obvious, but varies according to many 

 conditions. If the fire has been such 

 that the destruction of the vegetative 

 cover is complete there may occur 

 stages in its replacement corresponding 

 to a complete succession beginning with 

 the pioneer plants, but these are much 

 condensed if the soil is not destroyed. 

 This is most often observed after a gen- 

 eral and a very destructive forest fire. 

 In the destruction of bogs the soil may 

 be largely consumed. 



Invasion from the adjacent areas may 

 occur and if the vegetation of these is 

 similar to that destroyed the result may 

 be the reestablishment of the former 

 conditions in a relatively short time. But 

 actually it must be understood that 

 any replacement takes many years. If 

 the destruction is not complete and roots 

 and seeds remain from which to develop 

 a new growth, the invaders from sur- 

 rounding areas may take possession at 

 first, but these are gradually replaced 



by the species which were destroyed 

 until finally the vegetation assumes the 

 character which it possessed before the 

 fire. In the case of forests, these in- 

 vaders serve to protect the more tender 

 forest vegetation until it has become 

 established, when they are replaced 

 by it. 



If the fire affects only the secondary 

 species such as herbs and shrubs in a 

 forest in any plant formation then the 

 succession operates only within those 

 forms, and as a result the stages are 

 short and not well defined. 



It is possible for the fire to do so little 

 damage, especially in grassland, as to 

 destroy none of the members of the 

 formation and give rise to no succession. 



It has been remarked by others that 

 succession after fires usually operates 

 within water-content groups, due to 

 the fact that the alterations of the soil 

 are slight, except on slopes where the 

 burning of the vegetation allows erosion 

 to occur. Grasslands are replaced in 

 most cases by grasslands and forest 

 usually by forest. 



The immediate effect of fires upon 

 animal life, as well as upon plant life, 

 is always destructive. Only those forms 

 escape that are of large size and have 

 effective means of rapid locomotion. 

 Before the advancing flames is driven a 

 horde of larger animals which under the 

 influence of terror lose all fear of man 

 and even invade towns and cities, while 

 the smaller and weaker forms perish if 

 exposed to the fire. Aquatic animals 

 are not exempt from destruction for it 

 is stated that in the great Miramichi 

 fire in New Brunswick in 1825 fish in the 

 streams were killed in such numbers as 

 to be afterward found in heaps on the 

 river banks. 



The completeness of this destruction 

 of animal life varies with the character 

 of the fire. Since fires usually occur 

 when the soil is dry, earthworms and 

 moisture-loving forms will have re- 

 treated below the level affected or will 

 have resorted to wet places where the 

 fire is less severe. The numerous forms, 

 especially insects, which live in the sur- 



