Mature trees survive fire because they have thick bark, branch-free trunks, a moderately deep rooting habit, and often occur in moderately open stands. The natural fire regime in Red Pine forests is one of alternating stand replacing fires and nonlethal fires. Most moderate-severity fires do not kill canopy trees. The high-severity fires kill trees and create openings in the stand, ideal for regeneration. Complete absence of fire will eventually eliminate Red Pine, as will frequent, stand-replacing fires.
Stands provide cover, nesting sites, and food for many species of birds and mammals.
If preferred food is lacking, white-tailed deer, snowshoe hares, and cottontails will browse seedlings. Moose show moderate preference for Red Pine browse in the winter when other browse is dormant. Mice and chipmunks feed on the seeds. Songbirds feed on the seeds. Wood moderately hard and straight grained.