Wayne,
I don't know if this rises to the level of knowledge, but I have
often heard that the cones of certain pines won't open to release their
seeds unless toasted in a fire. It seems that it would take just the right
amount of fire, though, because toasting for too long would surely kill the
seeds. Here is an article that discusses smoke-stimulated germination, and
it lists references that may be relevant:
http://depts.washington.edu/propplnt/2003guidelines/group1/Smoke%20Infusion.htm
Now moving on to speculation: suppose a certain species is found
only in a fire-maintained ecosystem. If fire is suppressed in that
ecosystem, it would undergo altered succession, possibly developing into as
system that no longer provided suitable habitat for the species in
question, which would then die out. Here is a link to an article about
such endemic species in Florida: http://www.forestencyclopedia.net/p/p237
Martin M. Meiss
2012/10/6 Wayne Tyson <landr...@cox.net>
> Ecolog:
>
> I just caught a video production on TV done by a major governmental fire
> authority. It contained a mixture of truth and superstition, as well as
> some questionable assumptions that y'all can help me clear up.
>
> 1. A uniformed fire official claimed that some plants are DEPENDENT upon
> fire for their survival. He did not say that some plants are ADAPTED to
> fire, he said "dependent."
>
> Please share your knowledge and references, please.
>
> Thanks,
>
> WT
>
