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Prairie Blog

What's going on in the Florida prairie.

Fire on the Prairie by Jen Benson-Hughes

8/5/2013

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Fire On The Prairie, by Jen Benson-Hughes
An insider view of fire and friendship at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve

PictureNighttime Prairie Wildfire, ©Jen Benson-Hughes
During the warm months, Kissimmee Prairie Preserve focuses on resource management. The most influential component in managing Florida’s ecosystems is fire. Historically, lightning-created fires sustained ecosystems. The plants and animals in the prairie adapted with frequent fire. Fire is essential to this landscape, and it offers fire personnel a means to be ecologically productive, get dirty, and maintain friendships.

Prescribed Fire
Prescribed Fire in Zone 14, ©Jen Benson-Hughes
Most lightning strike wildfires occur during the transition season—the time of year after the winter freeze and before the rainy season when dead vegetation is cured and the soil is dry. Most thunderstorms in Florida are generated by convection, the result of instability in the atmosphere. Our area of Florida receives 8-16 flashes per kilometer per year! Lightning strike wildfires may be extinguished by the next thunderstorm cell, but in the past when left to their own devices, wildfires could continue to burn for days or weeks (maybe months). This rarely happens today due to roads, canals, and human activity. Controlled burning (prescribed fire) is a safer, cheaper way to restore and maintain an ecosystem than allowing wildfires. Controlled burns are simply fires that are thoughtfully planned with proper preparation on the ground, and skillfully executed by trained professionals to produce the desired effects for the land. Wildfire has the potential to do extreme damage if the wrong conditions exist, such as severe drought and high winds.
Fire Crew
©Rob Rossmanith
Evan
©Jen Benson-Hughes
Two Women
©Jen Benson-Hughes
FGSP©Christina Evans
The Florida Park Service tries to mimic the timing of nature with controlled burns because the prairie responds differently to fire depending on time of year. Winter fires favor trees and shrubs because many of the grasses are dormant. Trees that encroach into the prairie push out plant species that require open spaces. But the response from plants and animals after a transition/growing season fire is remarkable: prairie grasses and forbs, bountiful butterflies, Burrowing Owls, Northern Bobwhites, and many other species that rely on the open ground of the prairie flourish and reproduce. This includes the endangered Florida Grasshopper Sparrow (pictured), which uses patches of open ground as ‘run-ways’ to search for food and evade predators.

Jen and Fire Crew
Smiles After a Job Well Done, ©Natalie Carlson
Fire is inherently dangerous. As Florida park rangers and land managers, it is our duty to ensure that controlled burns and wildfires are managed in a safe and responsible manner. Living and working in the most frequently burned ecosystem in Florida, we have to be well-versed in the techniques, preparations, safety protocols, laws, and equipment needed to conduct a controlled burn or contain a wildfire. All of this knowledge is not gained overnight. It requires years of training, on-the-job experience, support from the public, and cooperation among many agencies. The camaraderie among the fire crews is encouraging and supportive. Burn one time with a fire fighter and you’re friends for life! Birthday parties are more fun with fire fighters!

In the prairie, fire equals life! It is a beautiful relationship that inspires many of us to capture the prairie’s beauty with our cameras, and we keep it in our hearts and minds. One of the greatest joys in this profession is watching the prairie and all its inhabitants thrive after a growing season fire. Oh, and autumn—you have to see the prairie wildflowers in September/October—gorgeous!

Picture© C. Evans
Guest blog author, Jen Benson-Hughes, is Burn Boss and Park Service Specialist at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve. Jen's favorite part of her job is prescribed fire.

NOTE: A complete version of this article, with more images, will be published in an upcoming Kissimmee Prairie Star newsletter.

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Where the Rare is Commonplace... (part two)

5/22/2012

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Where the Rare is Commonplace... or not.

Picture
Florida Grasshopper Sparrow
As mentioned in February's post, here,  there are many uncommonly seen species that can be found with relative ease at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve. But the Preserve also protects and harbors some species that are not commonly found anywhere in Florida — or even in the world.

The most notable of these is the federally endangered Florida Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum floridanus), a subspecies of grasshopper sparrow endemic to Florida's fire-dependent dry prairie habitat.  Loss of habitat and other stressors (such as exotic, invasive fire ants) have reduced the population of this secretive little bird to where only a few hundred are believed to remain. Kissimmee Prairie Preserve is among the very few places where it is making its last stand.

To learn more about the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow visit the FWC website.

One of those more "commonplace" birds that is often seen in the summer flying gracefully over the Preserve is the beautiful and elegant Swallow-tailed Kite.  And while they always provide a thrill, there is another kite seldom seen in Florida—the White-tailed Kite—a spectacular raptor known to nest in the Preserve. A very lucky summer visitor might spot one hovering while hunting above prairie, or even perched on a snag.  

Picture
White-tailed Kite in its nest tree.
The Preserve's unique habitat harbors more than rare birds. It is also a place where one might find a threatened or endangered plant species, including the rarest of the grass pink orchids, the Manyflowered Grasspink (Calopogon multiflorus), which appears in the prairie shortly after a fire, or the aptly- named Bog Torch, AKA Snowy Orchid, (Habenaria nivea).
Picture
Snowy Orchid or Bog Torch (Habenaria nivea)
Picture
Manyflowered Grasspink (Calopogon multiflorus)
Picture
Florida Brown Snake
Not to forget reptiles and amphibians — the Preserve is habitat for the extremely rare South Florida Mole Kingsnake, for instance (no photo of that!). Florida Panther tracks have been seen there as well. Rarely seen butterflies and other arthropods also have been recorded in the Preserve (some of which may be covered in a future post from Linda Cooper).

Stay tuned for the next post —I have another guest blogger in mind to talk about crucial role of fire at the Preserve. (with some great photos).
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    Friends of Kissimmee Prairie Preserve

    Random thoughts on and pictures of Kissimmee Prairie Preserve.

    Photos are
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