The term “old-growth” typically brings to mind visions of towering trees in the rainy Pacific Northwest, but in fact, you may have walked through an old-growth ecosystem during your last hike in a Florida pine savanna. Although we typically look up to the trees when we think of old growth, ancient plants in southeastern U.S. pine savannas also grow in the understory. Old-growth savannas are open, ecologically significant landscapes that typically experience frequent fires. Many fire-adapted plants in the understory live for a long time, making these landscapes stable, persistent, and ancient. In this talk, I will describe two of my research projects in old-growth pine savannas: (1) how different fire regimes affect wiregrass (Aristida beyrichiana), a keystone bunchgrass species, and (2) the long-term stability of Florida plant communities under fire and water regimes. Understanding the antiquity of Florida’s plant communities is crucial for supporting long-term conservation goals.

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Raelene Crandall is an Assistant Professor of Fire Science at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. She uses ecological models to predict and test how fires will affect competitive interactions between species, plant and insect biodiversity, and demography of invasive species. She has worked in many ecosystems, but her favorites are pine-hardwood forests of the Midwest and pine savannas of the southeast. For more information about Dr. Crandall, including a list of publications, visit www.ecologyonfire.com.

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