Over time, these charcoal layers provide a record that scientists can use to determine when and how often fires have occurred. The Carolina Sandhills staff uses fire as a catalyst that promotes changes in the ecosystem. They anticipate the changes that will occur after a prescribed burn, and study the processes that take the ecosystem from one stage to the next. Regular prescribed fires reduce the amount of ground fuels, which means that if a wildfire did occur on the Refuge, it would be less intense and easier to control. Fuel reduction helps prevent crown fires which burn at high intensity and are capable of causing unacceptable change.
Fire also returns valuable nutrients to the soils.
Certain pathogens that reduce growth in pines and other species can be controlled or eliminated by the use of prescribed burning. A classic example is brown spot needle blight in the longleaf pine. 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. The Refuge maintains a complete weather station that collects hourly data including temperature, humidity, wind, moisture, and other climatic factors. Fire is mainly applied in the winter and spring.