Many, if not most, of Louisiana's native plants and animals evolved under the influence of fire, and have adapted to the effects of fire, many even to the point of being critically dependent on regular burning. From the shortleaf pine-hardwood hills of north Louisiana, through the longleaf pine hills and flats of central and southern Louisiana, to the marshes along our coast, we find habitat types that have experienced regular fire for thousands of years and that have become adapted to fire. Prior to the arrival of the aboriginal Americans, these fires were the work of lightning. Numerous thunderstorms during the spring and summer produce an abundance of lightning strikes, some of which inevitably ignite fires. In presettlement times, such fires could burn over immense areas, unimpeded by the artificial fire-breaks that typify the land today, such as towns, roads and farmlands.
Fire has many ecological effects that benefit fire-adapted habitats and species.
It removes accumulated organic matter, such as leaves and needles, thereby releasing smaller plants from this smothering overburden. Many herbaceous plants are stimulated to flower and set seed only by the stimulus of fire during the right time of the year. Burning promotes overall plant species diversity in very fire-adapted systems, such as longleaf pine habitats. In Louisiana, more rare plant species are associated with regularly burned wet longleaf pine savannahs than any other habitat in the state. Burning creates ash that adds nutrients to the soil.