We are entering the time of year when prescribed burns are more and more common. I want to talk about why prescribed burns are important. I think that generally we understand that they are important, otherwise we wouldn’t take the risk of doing them, but they are important in more ways than many understand.
To talk about the importance of prescribed burns we also have to talk about natural forest succession. Forest succession can look different depending on where you live. For us, it can start with meadow lands. Meadows would have plants like asters, queen Anne’s lace, and broom sedge. After about 5 years, the meadows will start to grow up some more and brush like sumac and blackberry will start to take over. At year 20, we would see a young pine forest start to emerge. This pine forest would start to mature and at about year 70, we would see an understory of hardwoods begin to emerge in the mature pine stand. From year 70 on, the forest begins to transition to a hardwood forest. At 100 years, we’ve reached the forest climax which is a mature oak-hickory forest. If there is no intervention, either natural or man-made, our forests will remain at the mature oak-hickory forest stage.
So, what’s wrong with allowing our forests to stay at the mature oak-hickory stage? And if it is wrong then what can be done about it? To answer the first question when all or a majority of our habitat is in the mature oak-hickory stage we have less diversity of habitat. Diversity of habitat is necessary to be able to support a diversity of wildlife, plants, fungi, and everything else that creeps, crawls, and grows in the woods. Deer need a diverse habitat to thrive. They need brush cover to protect fawns. Mature forests have very little cover and leave fawns exposed to roaming coyotes and bears. The deer also need mature forest for the mast crop (acorns and other nuts) that those trees provide every year. Our deer population is in decline, which is not due to overhunting as there are fewer and fewer hunters each year. Turkey populations are also in decline, in part because there is not sufficient brush cover for poults (baby turkeys). Bobwhite quail have become very rare in Georgia, because they need brush for their habitat. Grouse have also become rare because they make their home in the transition area between habitat types. These are just a few examples of species that we have seen a decline or significant decline in population.
Controlled burns reset the natural forest succession process, allowing a diverse array of habitats that support a diverse array of wildlife. Historically, in the southern US, wildfires would burn parts of the landscape every 1 to 3 years. Now in the southeast it’s estimated that 4% of lands that could be burned are in a burn rotation. With the development that we have now it’s a good thing that we don’t have wildfires raging through the southeast every 1 to 3 years. Controlled burns are able to keep the fuel load in the forest down to prevent that from happening. But if we don’t have enough controlled burns or responsible timber harvest from public lands then we won’t see the rejuvenation of the forest necessary for it to sustain a diverse group of species for generation after generation.
This column is not meant to be me taking a shot at any of the people or agencies that are responsible in managing our public lands. Often times those individuals are hampered by not having the resources that they need to manage public lands to their full potential or they are hindered by public opinion that does not support controlled burns. Hopefully, this column has educated people on the need for more management on our public lands so that they can reach their full potential. If you have questions about controlled burns you can contact the Georgia Forestry Commission, the US Forest Service, or email me at Jacob.Williams@uga.edu.