Pyrophilia
In ecology, pyrophilia is the property of different living beings to benefit from fire and to have adapted their way of life to fire as an environmental factor . It is found in fungi and plants as well as in animals, mainly in habitats where natural fires play an essential role in the ecosystem .
The most well-known organisms that can be described as pyrophilic include the sequoia trees , whose fruit stands (cones) cannot open without major fires. This can also be observed with eucalyptus and various species of pine , as well as with Lilium pyrophilum , a species of the genus of lilies (Lilium) of the American section.
The southern European maquis is one of the pyrophilic plant communities that even overgrown the remains of a previously existing high forest in the Mediterranean area after a fire .
Well-known representatives of the animals are the bug Aradus lugubris , the black pine jewel beetle Melanophila acuminata or the Australian jewel beetle Merimna atrata . These beetles can be found on freshly burned forest areas, where mating takes place and the females lay their eggs in the charred logs. The benefit of the pyrophilic way of life for the beetles is probably that the trees damaged by the fire are no longer able to repel the beetle larvae mining in the bast .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mushrooms and Fire ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on giftpilze.ch. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
