1. Fire in Southern Ecosystems
Welcome to
Fire in Southern Ecosystems
Presentation #1: Introduction to Fire in the Southeast
Educator notes are provided below each slide as needed.
Suggested video: Fire in the Southland—provided in the Fire in Southern Ecosystems curriculum package.

2. Fire in Southern Ecosystems: Introduction to Fire in the Southeast
Fire in Human History
Basic Elements of Fire
Fire in Natural Areas
Two Kinds of Fire

3. Fire in Human History

4. Fire in Human History
Fire is a mystical and religious symbol that has been integrated into stories and mythology worldwide.
Do you remember the story of the Phoenix?
The mythology of ancient Egypt includes a large, magnificently colored bird called the Phoenix. The Phoenix was said to live for five hundred to six hundred years. Then, at the end of its life, the great creature built a funeral pyre and set itself on fire. From the ashes of this funeral fire, a new Phoenix emerged with the freshness of youth to live out yet another cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

5. Human Use of Fire How do you think native people used fire?
Fire was used by people in the South long before modern times. How do you think native people used fire?
Native people burned hunting areas
New green growth and improved habitat attracted animals
Open forest allowed them to more easily chase animals
Native farmers burned crops
Burning helped to clear out old crop residue from agricultural areas
The nutritious ash promoted growth when new crops were planted
Native people sometimes used fire as an Instrument of war
Open areas were easier to guard in order to prevent and detect attack
Fire could be used to drive enemies away
The use of fire by Native Americans helped to maintain a natural landscape that was already adapted to regular fire. When early Europeans arrived, they found that the forests were open and grassy. This is attributed to both natural fire and Native American use of fire. Most of the very dense forests present in the Southeast today were much more open (and had much less fuel) when European settlers first arrived.

6. Early Settlers’ Use of Fire
What are some reasons early settlers in the South used fire on the land?
Hint: Think about farming and hunting.
Early settlers in the South used fire on the land. What are some reasons they may have used fire? Hint: Think about farming and hunting.
Early settlers used fire to:
Clear land for crops
To increase the quality of grazing lands (ash improves the nutrients in grasses)
To attract game with improved habitat
To clear brush away from homes to protect them from wildfire
To make it easier to cross the landscape
If you look at photos of old cracker homes you will see that they have large, bare areas around them. Early settlers were very aware of the risks and benefits of fire. The cleared areas around homes served as a fire break and prevented the fuels on the ground from becoming a way for fire to get to settlers’ homes.
Many “old timers” tell stories of using fire on their ranch lands. They would ride across a pasture, throwing out matches to burn the land. In a few weeks they would be rewarded with fresh new grass and fertile soil.

7. Basic Elements of Fire

8. The Fire Triangle What are the three legs of the fire triangle?
Go on to next slide.

9. The Fire Triangle
FUEL
Fuels are anything that can be burned.

10. The Fire Triangle
FUEL
The Earth’s air is more than 80% oxygen.
OYXGEN

11. The Fire Triangle FUEL HEAT OYXGEN
A heat source intense enough to begin a fire is needed.
OYXGEN

12. How Would You Stop a Fire?
Any guesses?
Move to the next slide.

13. How Would You Stop a Fire?
You would take away one of the legs of the fire triangle.
HEAT
FUEL
If teachers wish to enhance this discussion, they can demonstrate the removal of oxygen by lighting a candle and putting a jar or glass over it. Once all of the oxygen is used (students can time how long this takes) the fire goes out.
OYXGEN

14. Fire in Natural Areas

15. Fire in Natural Areas
What does “fire in natural areas” make you think of?
What are some areas in the Southeast that have natural fires?
“Fire in natural areas” may make students think of wildfires. Explain that many of the ecosystems in the South depend on fire to remain healthy (more about this in Presentation #2). Fire is natural here in the Southeast, and most natural areas are designed to burn. Throughout the history of the South, many areas burned every few years. This way, the fires were not so hot and dangerous because the fuels were being consumed every few years. It is when we delay fires that they become a wildfire because the fuels build up to dangerous levels.
Ask the students to brainstorm examples of places that have fire. They may want to think about when they see and smell smoke – where does this happen? They can talk about general areas (woods, prairies, cattle ranches, quail hunting plantations, etc.) or specific area (Moody Tract or Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia; Everglades National Park, Ocala National Forest, Jennings State Forest, Wekiva Springs State Park, or The Nature Conservancy’s Disney Wilderness Preserve in Florida).

16. What makes fire burn in natural areas?
Fuels are flammable materials that feed fire.
What are some fuels that could be found in a natural area in the Southeast?
Fuel can be both dead and living plant material. Fuel can be dead logs, dry leaves, brown pine needles, dry grasses and plants, but fuel can also be green plants like palmettos and gallberry.
In many southern ecosystems, plant materials like pine needles, saw palmetto, gallberry, and wiregrass ignite very easily and burn quickly. Some types of vegetation burn much more readily than others. For example, pine needles burn readily whereas oak leaves don’t burn as well. Even some green plants (e.g., palmettos, gallberry) have volatile oils and resins in their leaves that promote fire.
These plants are adapted to regular fire and they depend on fire to maintain their habitat and to provide them with nutrients. Without fire, these fire-adapted ecosystems change to a different kind of ecosystem and many of these plants and animals disappear. In forests that have not had fire for a long time, lots of dead and living material accumulates, creating a hazardous situation where a dangerous wildfire could burn.

17. Preventing fire in natural areas
It is difficult, but we can put out fires in natural areas.
Think about the fire triangle elements of oxygen, heat, and fuel. How could we prevent a wildfire or stop a wildfire once it starts?
Reduce or Eliminate Oxygen: Small fires can be smothered, but we usually can’t smother wildfires because they are too large to smother and oxygen is part of the surrounding atmosphere.
Reduce or Eliminate Heat: In our homes we can prevent a heat source from igniting a fire, but we may not always be able to prevent a wildland fire from igniting. For example, fires started by lightning are beyond our control. Even more common, however, are fires started by careless people. Many fires in the South start from careless people who are burning yard trash in their backyard, and many more fires are intentionally started by people. If we could keep people from starting fires, we could prevent about three-quarters of the fires that we have each year! But sometimes people are beyond our control. Firefighters can reduce heat on some large fires by dropping large buckets of water or fire retardant on them, but we would hope to prevent and stop fires before they get this big.
Reduce or Eliminate Fuel: The best bet for preventing and reducing the impacts of wildland fire is to REDUCE FUELS available to the fire. We can reduce fuels by removing vegetation (harvesting pine straw or harvesting trees), killing vegetation (herbicides), crushing vegetation down (mowing or chopping), or by burning away the underbrush (prescribed fire). These methods of fuel reduction have varying levels of acceptance by humans. Educators might discuss with students the various options. Which options cost the most? (probably herbicides and mowing, for large acreages) Which options cost the least? (prescribed fire is usually the cheapest method) Which option is best for the ecosystems? (prescribed fire) Which options do the students prefer? (personal opinion)

18. Two Kinds of Fire Fire in natural areas Prescribed Fire Wildfire
What do you notice about the difference in flame height between these two types of fire? Which kind of fire do you think is hotter? Safer? More expensive to fight?
Prescribed Fire

19. Wildfire How would you define a wildfire?
Look at the picture and describe what you see.
A wildfire is fire in a natural area that burns out of control. It has very large and hot flames. It is burning all of the fuel on the ground, the forest midstory, and it is sometimes burning the tops of the trees.
This picture is from a Florida wildfire in 1985.
Glossary terms:
Wildfire—An unplanned, unwanted wildland fire including unauthorized human-caused fires, escaped wildland fire use events, escaped prescribed fire projects, and all other wildland fires where the objective is to put the fire out.
Wildland Fire—Any nonstructure fire that occurs in a natural area, including three distinct types: wildfire, wildland fire use, and prescribed fire.
Wildland Fire Use—When naturally ignited fires are allowed to burn if they fall within an already existing prescription and will accomplish some necessary management goals.
Prescribed Fire (Rx Fire)—The planned application of fire to natural fuels to accomplish a specific management goal. Like a prescription for forest health, prescribed fire is done according to a written plan for weather and safety conditions. Agencies use prescribed burning to maintain or restore fire-dependent ecosystems, reduce slash after timber harvest, manage for an endangered species, increase forage production, prepare land for replanting of pine trees, or reduce hazardous fuels that may increase the risk of wildfire. Prior to ignition, an authorization must be obtained from the state forestry office.

20. Prescribed Fire How would you define a Prescribed Fire?
Look at the picture and describe what you see.
A Prescribed Fire is a fire that is set under safe conditions by land managers to accomplish certain goals. Some goals for prescribed fire might include to reduce hazardous fuels for wildfire prevention, to manage forest or grazing lands, or to restore an ecosystem to a more natural condition.

21. So, as you can see, fire is a natural part of southern ecosystems
So, as you can see, fire is a natural part of southern ecosystems. Understanding how fire has been used throughout history, how fire is created, and how we use it today to manage ecosystems helps us to learn to live safely with fire in the South.

22. Introduction to Fire in the South: Summary Discussion
How was fire used by Native people?
What are two types of fire?
What are the legs of the fire triangle?
What are two ways that you can reduce dangerous fuels in a forest?
To aid with hunting, to clear agricultural areas, to improve grazing lands, etc.
Prescribed fire and wildfire.
Oxygen, heat, and fuel.
The five basic ways to reduce fuels are
Mechanical treatment (mowing, chopping)
Herbicide treatment
Thinning or harvesting (pine straw, trees)
Livestock grazing (cattle, sheep, goats)
Prescribed fire