FIRE EFFECTS AND USE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Gopherus polyphemus | Gopher Tortoise 



DIRECT FIRE EFFECTS ON ANIMALS : 
No information is available on the direct effects of fire on gopher
tortoises.  Areas that do not support frequent fires build up high fuel
loads and support a more homogeneous, hotter fire, which may have a
detrimental effect on tortoises [12].
  


HABITAT RELATED FIRE EFFECTS : 
Because gopher tortoises inhabit fire-dependent southern pine
communities, fire tends to have beneficial effects on gopher tortoise
habitat.  Tortoise densities are higher in fire-adapted communities,
such as the longleaf pine-oak and sand pine (Pinus aclausa)-scrub oak
communities [3,8].

Temperatures of prescribed burns in the sandhill communities of Florida
were measured at gopher tortoise burrow entrances [12].  Areas where
fires burned annually produced mean temperatures of 96 to 125.6 degrees
Fahrenheit (36-52 deg C).  Areas where fires burned every 5 years
produced mean temperatures of 160 to 340 degrees Fahrenheit (71-171 deg
C).  Longleaf pine-turkey oak communities of Florida recovered to 50
percent ground cover 9 months after January prescribed burns [2].
Burned areas showed an increase in dog fennel and partridge pea, two
important tortoise food plants.

Mushinsky [17] concluded that periodic late May/early June burns in
Florida sandhill communities resulted in an increase in the number and
diversity of amphibians and reptiles, including gopher tortoises.  A
greater number of tortoises were found in areas burned every year, than
in those areas burned every 2 and 7 years.


FIRE USE : 
Fire can be used to maintain early seral understory communities in
southern pine ecosystems.  Fire can also be used to prepare seedbeds for
southern pine types where open, parklike stands are desirable [1,3].
Summer burning can be used to restore wiregrass, an important tortoise
food species, by encouraging seed production and reducing competition
from shrubs [7].  Wiregrass is the principal fuel in many southern pine
types, and adequate wiregrass cover is necessary for carrying the
frequent fires required to maintain these communities.


REFERENCES : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Wildlife Species: Gopherus polyphemus | Gopher Tortoise