This is a fire tolerant species which has adapted to allow fire to be utilized at an early stage of its life. Once the diseased needles on young pine trees have been consumed by fire, the blight is controlled, and the seedlings can continue to store carbohydrates in their roots. This can accelerate the growth response of long leaf pine by 10 or 12 years. Unlike wildfire, prescribed fire is rarely lethal to most forms of wildlife. However, it does have profound effects on them.
Fire is an efficient and economical tool for improving habitat for certain wildlife species.
Prescribed burning alone is the only alternative in most cases to increasing and maintaining healthy wildlife populations. Certain species such as scrub jays and quail require specific cover types for nesting that can only be brought about through a fairly frequent prescribed burning program, while others such as deer and turkey can be maintained in areas receiving less frequent prescribed burning. In Florida, more acres are being burned for grazing purposes than for all other uses of fire combined. Both forest and non-forest land use types are involved. Cattle gains were much greater on burned range than on unburned range during the spring, and 2 to 3 times higher for the entire season.