Their large size helps them in handling and harvesting the large cones of the longleaf pine, a feat not possible for their smaller relative, the grey squirrels. Researchers studying one Sandhills longleaf pine community identified 124 plant species in a plot 100 feet square. This ranks the Sandhills among the most diverse botanical regions anywhere on the planet. None of this remarkable diversity would exist without certain natural processes that drive the entire longleaf pine ecosystem. The most important of these is fire.
Most people consider fire to be a destructive force when it occurs in a forest.
That is not the case with the longleaf pine. In fact, this species requires frequent, low intensity fires for its very survival. For thousands of years, natural fires ran almost unimpeded throughout the longleaf pine ecosystem. The pine needles, wire grass, and other plants fueled fires that burned, on average, at least every two to five years. The flames would move slowly across the landscape for days or even weeks at a time, eventually being extinguished by a drenching rain.