Prescribed Burning Why are prescribed burns used in

Prescribed Burning Why are prescribed burns used in forestry? AG-FS-5. The student will be able to develop an understanding of the role of fire in a forest environment.

What are prescribed burns? • http: //ncforestservice. gov/fire_control/prescribedfirevideo. ht m

Why are prescribed burns used? • Hazard Reduction • Reduce and control forest litter and undergrowth • Areas that have been prescribed burned every few years are generally immune to wildfire damage • Very important in pine plantations- pines can be prescribed burned when they reach approximately 15 feet in height • Hardwood control • Hardwoods don’t need open area of full sunlight to live and can invade southern pine forests • Hardwood invasion hinders or slows pine growth • Prescribed burns can eliminate any hardwoods 2” in diameter or under • A summer burn should be used to get the best results

• Site preparation • Bare soil and full sunlight is needed to grow pine trees • Fire is the cheapest tool used to provide these conditions • Using a series of several controlled burns can prepare land to provide a suitable seedbed for pine trees • Wildlife habitat • Habitats can be greatly improved by prescribed burning • Burn reduces predator cover, expose hidden seeds and increase herb and legume growth and produce fresh low browse • Disease control • Prescribed burning is the only practical method of controlling Brown Spot Needle Blight • Use a later winter burn, when 25% of pine seedlings are 2 years or older are infected • The fire burns away infected needles while protecting bud • Also control Fome Annosus Root Rot

• Improved Accessibility • Reducing the ground cover by prescribed burning improves accessibility and visibility for marking and cruising timber, harvesting operation and other management activities • Burning also improves recreational value (? ) and visual appearance of the land

What is prescribed burning? • The application of fire to the land to accomplish specific silvicultural, wildlife, grazing or fire hazard reduction purposes. • The most economical tool to use for cleaning operations in most young pine stands • Under ideal conditions, fire can be used for less than $3 per acre • Prescription burning should be only done by persons trained in its use • Before using prescription burning, the user needs to measure: • • Relative humidity Temperature Wind, velocity, and direction Fuel moisture

Factors affecting a successful prescribed burn • Fuel conditions • Amount and the arrangement of the fuel • Determine the desired intensity of the fire, consider the fuel conditions and then determine the type of fire to use • Prescribed burns need a continuous litter of pine needles or grass • On well-stocked pine tracts of land, fuels can reach critical levels in about 5 years and need to be burned • Low-growing shrubs draped with pine needles create a level of aerial fuels that can create a great deal of heat • Make initial burn with relative humidity at 50% and lower litter fuel moisture at 20%, and low air temperature (<50 degrees F) • Use a backfire to burn a stand of medium height trees

• Weather factors • Obtain weather info from the Georgia Forestry Commission • Temperature • 20 -60 degree F is the ideal range for winter burning • Low temps prevent damage to needle or stem tissue • Burns for hardwood control should occur in the summer with air temp around 80 degrees or above • Wind • Steady 2 -10 mph northerly winds are best • Need steady wind direction and speed • Supplies oxygen to the fire and dissipates heat from the fire • Relative Humidity (RH) • 30 -50% • The actual amount of moisture in the air in relation to the total amount it can hold • A 20 degree rise in tem can reduce the RH by half which can quickly change a prescribed burn to a hard to control fire

• Rainfall • ½-1”, one week before burning • The upper litter layer should be dry to the touch (5 -12% fuel moisture) • The thin organic layer on the top of the mineral soil should be moist and the lower layer should be damp • Provides for an effective burn with good fuel consumption and minimum smoke • Season of the Year • Winter burn usually provide for less damage to the timber stand, more predictable weather and steady winds • Summer burns provide a hotter fire to burn more of the undergrowth for seedbed prep • Time of Day • Day time fires offer better weather and working conditions • RH goes up at night • Start about 10 a. m. and make sure fire has time to burn out before night.

Types of Prescribed Burns • Use of fire differs with the different conditions as weather, fuel and topography • Head fires • fires moving in the same direction as the wind • generate the most intense heat and move at the fastest rate • Do not use this fire type on a timber tract unless a backfire has been used to reduce fuel and still use a backfire to burn into • Do not use in an area that is wider than 75 -150 feet and separated by fire breaks • Used to burn larger areas faster • Backfires moving in the opposite directions as the wind move at the slowest rate and are the least intense method of burning Use in areas that have not been burned in several years Need a 4 -10 mph steady wind. Start fire on the windward side and close to the edge of a clean firebreak or road • Will burn at a rate of 100 ft/hour • Use on sapling sized stands 15 or more feet in height • • • Flank Fires • fires moving at a right angle to the wind • intermediate both in intensity and speed • Used to supplement head and back fires

How often should you burn? • Burn pine stands every few years • Hazard reduction burns should be made every 2 to 5 years to protect an area • Hardwood control burns may have to be done annually for pine regeneration