indigo snake (Drymarchon corais). By burrowing, gopher tortoises aid in returning leached nutrients to the soil surface [4].

HABITAT RELATED FIRE EFFECTS:

Because gopher tortoises inhabit fire-dependent southern pine communities, fire tends to have beneficial effects on gopher tortoise habitat. Tortoise densities are higher in fire-adapted communities, such as the longleaf pine-oak and sand pine (Pinus clausa)-scrub oak communities [4]. Longleaf pine-turkey oak communities of Florida recovered up to 50 percent ground cover 9 months after January prescribed burns [6]. Burned areas showed an increase in dog fennel and partridge pea, two important tortoise food plants.

Mushinsky [7] concluded that periodic late May/early June burns in Florida sandhill communities resulted in an increase in the number and diversity of amphibians and reptiles, including gopher tortoises. A greater number of tortoises were found in areas burned every year, than in those areas burned every 2 and 7 years.

FIRE USE:

Fire can be used to maintain early seral understory communities in southern pine ecosystems. Fire can also be used to prepare seedbeds for southern pine types where open, parklike stands are desirable [2]. Summer burning can be used to restore wiregrass, an important tortoise food species, by encouraging seed production and reducing competition from shrubs [8]. Wiregrass is the principal fuel in many southern pine types, and adequate wiregrass cover is necessary for carrying the frequent fires required to maintain these communities.

REFERENCES:

• 1.  Wood, Don A., compiler. 1994. Official lists of endangered fauna and flora in Florida. Tallahassee, FL: Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission 22 p. [24196]
• 2.  Affenberg, Walter; Franz, Richard. 1982. The status and distribution of the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus). In: Bury, R. Bruce, ed. North American tortoises: conservation and ecology. Wildlife Research Report 12. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service: 95-126. [16415]
• 3.  Witz, Brian W.; Wilson, Dawn S.; Palmer, Michael D. 1991. Distribution of Gopherus polyphemus and its vertebrate symbionts in three burrow categories. American Midland Naturalist. 126 (1): 152-158. [15684]
• 4.  Diemer, Joan E. 1986. The ecology and management of the gopher tortoise in the southeastern United States. Herpetologica. 42 (1): 125-133. [16418]
• 5.  Burke, Russell L. 1989. Florida gopher tortoise relocation: overview and case study. Biological Conservation. 48: 295-309. [16420]
• 6.  Grieb, Jack R. 1970. The shortgrass prairie Canada goose population.   Wildlife