Fire Ecology


ccwhitey

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I'm taking this class because it pertains to my thesis but I never know just how vitial fire has played a vital role in shaping the ecosytems that are present throughout the US and world today. By the end of the class I will hopefully be burn certified and able to manage my own burns.

Anyone out there use controlled burns to manage their timber or crp ground?

Jared

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Yep...every year at the forest preserve i worked at, we would burn about 700 acres of prairie. One of the biggest factors you need to always consider (other than your burn getting out of control) is the timing of your burn. If you burn to late, you could destroy thousands of nesting song birds that utilize the prairies for nesting. Its a pretty easy way to find sheds as well :cool2:...They may look all black and charred, but that just rinses right off. What always amazed me was how much the oak tree thrived off of these burns. One would think that a giant burning prairie would destroy an oak savanah, but in fact it does the opposite...Its like a catalyst. Its a great way to control invasives, and add nutrients to the soil at the same time.

Sounds like a neat thesis. Good luck!

dan

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ogle county...I use to work for the Byron Forest Preserve District up there but i hated all the administrative crap that went with it...plus the people in that area were not very pleasant, so we decided to move back down south.

www.byronforestpreserve.com

pretty sure thats the link to the website. if you really have questions i can connect you with the Executive Director; hes a good dude, fellow hunter, and would be happy to help you with any questions you have. just let me know.

dan

Edited by layin on the smackdown
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I've done a little burning. I recieved my degree in Natural Resources with an imphases in Rangeland Management. I interned with the Tallgrass Nature Conservancy, and work for the Army COE. OK State has an intense Fire Ecology program. I believe K-State and Texas Tech also are pretty active in it. Prescribed fire around here is an every year deal. When I worked with the Nature Conservancy, we burned year round, it helped to alter the plant communities. It was really cool!

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I burned my pasture off last spring...pretty much to kill off all the mice, and keep the grass from getting too thick and matted and thus less of a fire danger to the buildings if a wildfire was to start. You could see the mice running ahead of the fire and then hear them "pop" when they got caught, because I had a back burn going and there was no way out

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