WEBINAR – Tales of Plants that Thrive Where Fire and Water Collide

Fire and flooding are natural disturbances that affect individual plant species and whole communities. Species that survive and reproduce despite disturbances should maintain populations, but those killed will likely decrease or disappear unless their seeds or seedlings thrive in the environment created by disturbances. Some species are particularly sensitive to differences in the seasonal timing of fire and flooding. These species are often rare, and changes in their abundances after disturbances can significantly affect ecosystems via interactions with other species. In this talk, Dr. Crandall discusses several case studies from the southeastern U.S. where fire and flooding interactively affect the population dynamics of species of management concern. Examining plant responses to natural disturbances should aid in developing management protocols and facilitate the conservation of plant species.

Dr. Rae Crandall grew up in northern Indiana, playing in creeks, building forts in trees, and picking wildflowers. As an undergraduate at Butler University in Indianapolis, she learned that fire was integral to maintaining the habitats she enjoyed as a child. She was also given the opportunity to light her first prescribed fire and “caught the fire bug.” Rae worked as a wildland firefighter in the western U.S. and prescribed fire practitioner in the Midwest before beginning graduate school to follow her curiosity and ignite students’ interest in fire. She earned an MS at Oklahoma State University, a PhD at Louisiana State University, and completed a postdoc at Washington University in St. Louis before beginning her appointment at the University of Florida in the School of Forest, Fisheries and Geomatics Sciences. Throughout her career, her interests have remained focused on characterizing fires and understanding how plant species respond to fire. Every plant species has a unique life story, and Rae seeks to learn and tell these tales.