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- Info
Some melaleuca fire relationships including recommendations for home site protection
| Author: |
Wade, D.D. |
| Date: |
1979 |
| Periodical: |
In: Melaleuca Symposium; 1979 September 23-24; Fort Myers, FL. |
| Abstract: |
Melaleuca quinquenervia, an introduced tree with high fire tolerance, is displacing native south Florida vegetation on a variety of sites. Melaleuca has fire adaptations that enhance the survival of established trees, promote reproduction, and increase fire intensity to the detriment of less fire-resistant competitors. ?'he combined use of fire and herbicides to help control the spread of this species is advocated, and recommendations are given for reducing the potential for destruction of wildland home sites during melaleuca crown fires. South Florida is characterized by long sunny days, warm temperatures, and plentiful rainfall, but this combination does not persist throughout the year. Freezing temperatures are recorded annually and a sharp contrast generally exists between the several months of standing water during the rainy season and the "drought" conditions that follow at the height of the dry season. Moreover, the luxuriant plant growth during the wet summer becomes increasingly flammable as the winter dry season progresses. South Florida also has the distinction of being the lightning capital of the Nation. Lightning fires, along with water and periodic freezes, shaped and maintained this vegetative mosaic that endured until the late 1800's. Since then, large scale drainage projects have lowered the water table to the point where organic soils are now dry enough to burn during most dry seasons. Today, humans cause the vast majority of fires, and losses can assume national importance. For example, total acreage burned during the 5-year period 1974-78 in the seven counties comprising extreme south Florida averaged 98,800 acres per year; the 229,00 acres that burned during the 1974 drought year amounted to 15 percent of the non-federal, protected land that burned in the United States that year. Thus, for any plant to thrive in the south Florida environment, it must be able to withstand periods of flooding and drought, occasional freezing temperatures, and repeated fire. Melaleuca (Melaleuca quinquenervia) is such a plant. Introduced into south Florida early this century, this member of the myrtle family has demonstrated an ability to colonize a wide range of sites. Its reputation as an aggressive plant that replaces the native vegetation is well founded as attested to by the pure stands it eventually forms. There is little doubt that this tree evolved in close association with periodic fire; both its survival and reproductive strategies are directed toward such a regime. |
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