Spanning across more than seven counties in Southern Jersey, the Pine Barrens account for 22% of New Jersey’s total land area. The Pine Barrens play an important role in maintaining a large portion of New Jersey’s biodiversity while providing some of the cleanest drinking water and numerous recreational activities. However, strict preservation laws have allowed much of the Pinelands to become exceedingly thick while the potential for wildfire grows along with it. In order to prevent an uncontrollable wildfire and to preserve the integrity of the forests biodiversity, forests must be seriously managed in a sustainable and ecological way. As of right now, many unmanaged regions of the Pine Barrens pose many threats to surrounding communities through increased severity of wildfires and can also contribute to a decrease in …show more content…
There are many groups and organizations that feel that preservation is key and that any form of use is detrimental to the health of the forests. Of the 1.1 million acres, over half is strictly preserved as open space with more being protected by the government. One of the biggest threats to unmanaged forest is the decrease in biodiversity. Without any form of management, much of the pinelands have been accumulating a dense underbrush of debris as well as a thick canopy layer that blocks out sunlight from the ground making it difficult for ground species to grow. Currently, much of the fragmented forest are in the 60-80 year range bringing them close to being a climax community. While a climax community may seem ideal it constitutes of one or two larger trees and a very limited span of biodiversity. Having an array of habitats that include grasslands, shrubs and young sparse trees, and mature forests will ensure suitable habitat for a wider range of rare and specialist