Pine Barrens (New Jersey) - Forest Fires

Forest Fires

In the Pine Barrens, forest fire has been a common occurrence ever since it was first inhabited by people. Fire has played a major ecological role in the Pinelands, and the ecotypes "suggest that short fire intervals may have been typical in the Pine Plains for many centuries, or millennia." Although natural fires have occurred, evidence shows that most fires in the region are of human origin. The fire regime before European settlement is poorly understood, although it is known that the Lenape tribes burned the woods in the spring and fall to improve plant yields and hunting conditions. The Pine Barrens, with its sandy soil, did not attract a permanent agriculture population (whose main interest would have been to establish permanent boundaries for forest clearance). Instead, the area's sparse population encouraged a longlasting attitude that forest fires should be set for local benefit—even on the lands of others. It was profitable for charcoal burners to set fires deliberately, in order to make the trees useless for any purpose other than charcoal making, then purchase the trees for a discount.

Forest fires play an important role in regulating the growth of plants in the Pine Barrens. Frequent light fires tend to reduce the amount of undergrowth and promote the growth of mature trees. Forest fire is also a reason why the Pitch Pine is dominant in the Pine Barrens. Pitch Pines are common because of their ability to resist and recover from fire by resprouting directly through their bark (something very unusual for pines) and by serotinous pine cones which open only after having been heated by a fire. The prevalence of forest fire allows the pitch pines to dominate over oaks, which by comparison are usually killed outright by a moderate or intense fire. High air temperatures and dry plant undergrowth contribute to the intensity of the fire. While severe fires are uncommon, severe fires at fairly frequent intervals can eliminate species that do not bear seed at an early age. Frequent killing fires keep an area covered with small sprouts.

Efforts to battle forest fire attract debate over how to best preserve the Pine Barrens because of fire's danger to property and inhabitants. Preservationists argue that eliminating forest fires would cause the Pine Barrens to become dominated by oak trees. A few areas which had previously consisted of scrub and pitch pine have already become dominated by oak trees due to the lesser frequency of forest fires.