Fire works the same way in many forest ecosystems.  Some species such as jack pine and lodgepole pine actually require fire to maintain a healthy ecosystem.  Jack pine has a serotinous cone which requires heat to open and disperse its seeds.  No heat, no seeds.  No seeds, no new jack pine forests.  In a way jack pine ecosystems were designed to burn.  To demonstrate further how complex an ecosystem can become.  Let's add an animal to the picture.

-An unopened jack pine cone (left) contains dozens of seeds ready to be released when burned (right).

 

Smokey the bear

The Kirtland warbler is a small bird that only builds its nests in young, dense jack pine forests.   When we stopped allowing these forests to burn suitable nesting sites became very rare.  A lack of nesting sites nearly led to the extinction of the Kirtland warbler.  Now we have a better understanding of the jack pine ecosystem and we allow some of them to burn as long as property and people are not threatened.

Kirtland warbler

 
 

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