PINELANDS FIRE GLOSSARY
change in structure, function, or form that better prepares an animal or plant to survive in its environment (Because of their unique adaptations, the dwarf pitch pines and scrub oaks growing in New Jersey's Pinelands "Plains" are rarely destroyed by wildfire.)
a fire set unlawfully (After last year's large forest fire, two people were arrested and charged with Arson when gasoline and explosives were found in their truck.)
a fire set by foresters "against" an oncoming fire for the purpose of extinguishing a forest fire (The fire warden ordered the men to set a back fire in order to prevent the main fire from threatening the bird sanctuary.)
the hook-shaped part of a root located near the soil's surface that puts forth sprouts (When the forester returned to the burned area two weeks after the fire, he was surprised to discover many sprouts growing from basal crooks.)
buds, leaves, twigs, and young shoots of trees and shrubs on which animals feed (Hunters usually search for White-tailed deer in areas with abundant browse.)
a tree's or shrub's cell layer that provides the base for growth of woody tissue and bark (Because the fire severely damaged the cambium of the oaks, it was thought they would die.)
the last community in the developmental stages of succession (If fire is excluded from the Pinelands, the climax community will be an oak forest.)
cone bearing tree; commonly known as an "evergreen" even though it loses about 1/3 of its leaves every season (Susan thought we might find a small coniferous tree to transplant in our yard.)
the upper portion of a tree (The Red-tailed Hawk perched on a branch at the crown of the pitch pine.)
a plant that loses its leaves in the autumn (When we came to school one October morning, we found out that the deciduous maple tree in the yard had dropped many of its leaves.)
alive but inactive; not growing (The dormant buds of the clammy azalea begin to expand and open in the warm May sunshine.)
a time when there is little or no precipitation such as rain or snow (Africa's severe drought lasted for so many years that the people were unable to grow enough food to feed themselves.)
partiality decayed organic material on the forest floor (The fire was so hot that even the duff burned.)
an open area that is cleared and as such is designed to keep fires from spreading (During forest fires, the firebreak is a very successful, way to keep blazes from spreading.)
the person in charge of a forest-fire fighting unit (We watched the f ire boss direct the workers to the new outbreak of fire at the edge of Mrs. Moore's property.)
an environment such as a forest that burns easily (Upland forests in the Pinelands are fire prone.)
easily ignited and burned; that which burns readily and quickly (Gasoline is a highly flammable liquid.)
the leaves of a plant or tree (The beautiful colors of the fall foliage attract many visitors to New Jersey's Pinelands each year.)
a forest fire "is uncontained and freely spreading combustion which consumes the natural fuels of a forest, that is, duff, litter, grass, dead branch wood, snags, logs, stumps, weeds, brush, foliage, and, to a limited degree, green trees ¹. (The forest fire covered a 10 square mile area near Route 72.)
a person who manages and studies forests ("I would like to have been a forester in Washington State right after the Mount St. Helens explosions," said my sister.)
any potentially flammable material like dead trees and dry forest litter (All forest fire fighters know that one effective method of extinguishing fires is to remove fuel sources.)
place where a plant or animal naturally lives or grows (The fish's habitat is the lake, the whale's habitat is the oceans and my habitat is right here in my town.)
a fire that burns in the same direction as the blowing wind (The Plains Indians used to fear head fires more than any other kind of fire because it could travel across the prairies so quickly.)
energy produced by the rapid movement of molecules that create a rise in temperature (In winter, the kitchen is the warmest room in our house because the heat produced by our wood stove fire warms the air.)
spending the winter in an inactive condition (The turtle hibernates in winter.)
movement of a liquid containing soluble materials through some substance such as sand or gravel (Nutrients leach rapidly through the sandy Pinelands soil .)
debris such as twigs, branches and recently fallen deciduous leaves and pine needles that compose the top layer of the forest floor (Dry litter is a major source of highly flammable fuel in Pinelands forests.)
soil that is formed from rock or weathered rock consisting of gravel, sand and/or silts (Mineral soils have sand or silt particles within 16 inches of the ground's surface.)
a colorless, odorless, tastelass gas that makes up 21% of the Earth's atmosphere, and is necessary for burning to occur (Without oxygen, forest fires would not occur.)
created in 1979, this Commission developed a "Comprehensive Management Plan" for protecting and preserving the New Jersey Pinelands, while providing for development in environmentally suitable locations (The Pinelands Commission believes that lesson plans and activities should eb developed to help school children learn about the New Jersey Pinelands.)
a fire set by foresters to remove accumulated underbrush or litter. This reduces the possibility of wildfires. (If too much underbrush accumulates, the forester will set a prescribed burn to clear the fields.)
an underground stem which sends out roots below the soil and leafy shoots above (The bracken fern can reproduce by sending out a rhizome.)
the non-leafy, non-reproductive part of a plant, usually below the soil's surface, which serves as a growing point, organ of absorption, aerating organ, food reservoir, and means of support (If the plant's root survives the fire, it may sprout new leaves and grow again.)
the point at or just below the soil's surface where a trunk and a root join. Sprouting often occurs from this point after a fire (The forest fire was so devastating that even the root crowns did not put forth new sprouts.)
a young plant just developed from seed (Pitch pine seedlings are susceptible to fire damage because they have not yet developed thick, protective bark.)
a pine cone that may be opened by the heat of fire or simply heat or drying; upon opening, the cone releases its seeds (Pitch pines in the Pine Plains have serotinous cones.)
a new shoot (outgrowth) on a plant, shrub, or tree (Soon after an area of the New Jersey Pinelands burns, sprouts appear at the bases and on the trunks of pitch pines.)
sending out new growth (Sprouting is an important pitch pine fire adaptation.)
a group of plants of the same species, same size, and same age (I love to play hide and seek in the thick stand of pine trees.)
dormant buds at the base of pitch pine and some oaks that are capable of active growth when stimulated by a disturbance such as fire or cutting (Stump sprouting is one of the pitch pines most important adaptations to the fire prone environment of the Pinelands.)
a predictable and orderly change in a plant community that occurs over a period of time (Two years after the fire, we noticed that forest succession was in evidence and there were many birch trees growing in the fields.)
the height and slope of the lands surface (Overall, the topography of New Jersey's Pinelands is generally flat.)
any uncontrolled and unwanted forest fire (The radio crackled with static as the ranger excitedly told us about the wildfire on the other side of the mountain.)
¹ U.S. Forest Service. "Glossary of Terms Used in Forest Fire Control." U.S. Department of Agriculture Handbook, no. 104, 1956.