The Role of Fire in Park Management
Parsons DJ. 1977. The Role of Fire in Park Management. Parks. 2(1):1-4
Fire has played an important role in the evolution of much of the world's natural landscape. Whether through natural ignition or cultural burning, fire has periodically burned the world's forests, brushlands, and grasslands for millions of years. Many plants have developed specialized adaptations to survive fire, and some species and even entire plant communities depend on periodic burning for their survival. As a consequence of an ever-growing world population, the development of rural areas, and a desire to "protect" natural resources, there has been an increasing emphasis in recent years on the elimination of fire from much of the Earth's surface. Furthermore, when fire is used as a management tool it is too often done with the purpose of deliberately changing the existing vegetation type. Such practices can pose serious threats to many of our most interesting natural communities. Managers of national parks and other protected areas must recognize that fire plays an essential role in maintaining many plant communities. If we are to preserve examples of naturally functioning ecosystems it will be necessary to allow fire to play as natural a role as possible. The growing body of international literature on fire ecology and management (Kayll, 1974) together with the success of active fire management programs in several national parks (Kilgore, 1975) reflects an increasing attention to this problem.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Parsons, David
- Units
- EVER , HIST , SEKI , SEQU , YOSE
- Keywords
- Burning, Ecology, ehistory, FIRE, History, Management, Management, Natural fire, Prescribed Fire