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Prof_Fire OP t1_j5ufanl wrote

Yes! Many plants that have evolved with fire have traits that make them more flammable! For example, the long needles of longleaf pine are very flammable - their chemistry makes them more likely to ignite and burn. And the way they land on the understory creates a nice continuous layer of fuel that also allows oxygen to get in (a needed ingredient of fire). There are also fire-loving oaks that have flammability traits that encourage fire. The Mutch Hypothesis captures a lot of these ideas. We are still learning about the many fire traits that plants can have but we definitely see that our fire loving plants tend to encourage fire!

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