>http://www.savetheredwoods.org/education/giantsequoia.shtml
Hardly. If fire were necessary to release the seeds from their cones, the Sequoia wouldn't grow cones every year but only grow cones and release them when they detect a fire. That hot air is necessary to dry out the cones is something that could easily happen in a dry summer.
Secondly the denseness of the canopy results from humans hunting and trapping the small cute furry animals that would otherwise keep the canopy down. Furthermore I see from the Wikipedia page that both the longhorn beetle and the douglas squirrel are agents for giant sequoia seed release. In Glorantha, the Elves would take up the burden up ensuring its reproduction without unsightly wildfires.
>And I mentioned Garry Oak, which needs open areas to spread and which
>is gradually going extinct in my area, due in part to the lack of
>regular burns. The place it does best here is on the military firing
>and exercise ranges at Fort Lewis.
The Garry Oak thrived because of human intervention - the local indians were regularly burning the place down. When that practice was stopped, other species were better suited to thriving in the same area. Not exactly a case of must need fire to survive.
--Peter Metcalfe
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