Prescribed Burning Notebook Winter 2012 Table of Contents
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Prescribed Burning Notebook Winter 2012 Table of Contents Reasons for Burning Prescribed Burning as a Management Practice 1 Effects of Prescribed Burning 6 Regulations, Permits and Notification Kansas Open Burning Regulations 9 Notification and Permits 14 Notification Worksheet 16 Weather Weather Considerations for Prescribed Burning 17 National Weather Service Radio Transmitter Locations 26 Liability Prescribed Burning Liability 27 Equipment Equipment Recommendations for Prescribed Burning 30 Equipment Suppliers 38 Burn Crew and Briefings Pre-burn Briefing 39 Pre-burn Activities 40 Post-burn Briefing and Mop Up 41 Fuels, Hazards, and Firebreaks Fuel Loading 42 Hazards 44 Creating Firebreaks 48 Fire Behavior and Smoke Management Burning Methods and Techniques 51 Patch Burning 55 Fire Management Practices for Air Quality Attainment 57 Smoke Management Checklist 61 Common Problems with Burns 63 Contingency Planning 65 The Burn Plan A Written Prescribed Burning Plan 67 NRCS Burn Planning 69 CRP Burn Plan Example 81 Rangeland Burn Plan Example 84 Patch Burn Plan Example 89 Urban/Natural Area Burn Plan Example 93 Conservation Reserve Program CRP Maintenance and Management Burns 97 Decision Considerations for Expiring CRP Contracts 102 Converting Expired CRP to CCRP 106 Expiring CRP? Keeping Wildlife in Mind 107 Grazing and Haying CRP Ground after Contract Expiration 110 Grazing and Haying CRP Land 114 Factors to Consider Before Burning Wheat Residue 116 Appendices Technical and Financial Support 118 Contacting Local Agencies 120 Kansas Dept. of Wildlife and Parks Staff 121 Prescribed Fire Associations 123 Prescribed Fire Contractors 125 FIRE! The word is feared by most conditions and with proper timing. This is termed people. But fire is the major factor allowing grass- “prescribed burning.” lands to exist. Historically, grasslands developed with fire, drought, and grazing. Natural fires ignited Timing by lightning as well as those started by Native Timing of the burn is a critical element for Americans occurred throughout the year. Most often, obtaining the desired response. The kinds, amounts these fires occurred in areas with heavy growth. and nutritional content of various plants in a range- Heavy grazing by bison, elk, and longhorn created land area can be changed by fire. The presence and short areas that were resistant to burning. As fires abundance of plant species, forage yields, and range swept through an area, the grazing shifted to the condition are all affected by the time of burning. new regrowth on burned areas. Heavily grazed areas To control or reduce undesired plants, they regrew and supplied fuel for future fires. In addition, should be burned at the weakest point in their growth Native Americans used fire for attracting game, to stage. In order to damage a particular plant, burning “fire-proof” camp sites, and in religious ceremonies. must occur when the plant is actively growing or has Most woody plants were prevented from establishing buds above the soil surface, which can be destroyed. by recurring fires. In eastern Kansas, the grasslands For perennial plants, the plant’s food reserves should were an oak savannah, which is a grassland with be at or near their lowest point in their annual growth scattered mottes of oak trees across the landscape. cycle, so regrowth would be difficult. Perennial plants Trees and shrubs survived where fire that have bud zones below the level of couldn’t reach such as along streams the fire readily resprout, normally with and in areas with shallow soils. an increase in stem numbers. Annuals, Today, fire combined with manage- Management that have their growth point above the ment drought, and grazing, is the key soil surface, will be damaged or to maintaining grasslands. decisions destroyed by a fire that occurs during In modern grassland manage- their growth period. ment, the role of prescribed burning determine how, Prescribed burning must be must be part of a long-term manage- integrated into grazing management ment plan. Management decisions when, and to gain the full benefits. Combining determine how, when, and why fire why fire will stocking rate with prescribed burning will be used. Prescribed burning will allow the desirable vegetation to influences what vegetation will be be used. be competitive and help reduce the present by when it is used, how it is encroachment of many undesirable combined with other practices, and plants. what use is made of the land. Manag- Some examples of how fire ing to include fire will result in different vegetation affects plants may help in understanding why timing responses under different management is important. Buckbrush (coral berry) or sand plum, strategies. When multiple benefits are woody perennials, must be burned in late spring for 2 desired (example: livestock production and wildlife to 3 consecutive years for effective control. During habitat), management compromises will be needed. late spring, both are actively growing and fire destroys the top growth. Regrowth is slow since its food Benefits of Prescribed Burning reserves are low. Successive burns prevent build-up Research and experience have shown that fire of food reserves and eventually kill the plant. Smooth can be used as a major management practice for sumac, another woody perennial, has a life cycle native and introduced grasslands, hay meadows, and similar to warm season grasses in that it does not establishing and managing new native grass stands. It reach the lowest point in its food reserves until late can recycle nutrients tied up in old plant growth, May or June. It also doesn’t begin vegetative growth stimulate tillering, control many woody and herba- as early as native grasses. Burning in late spring will ceous plants, improve grazing distribution, reduce kill the top growth, but results in an increase in the wildfire hazards, improve wildlife habitat, and in- number of stems that resprout from below-ground crease livestock production in stocker operations. To buds. The net result is an accelerated increase in the gain these benefits, fire must be used under specified size of the smooth sumac invasion area. Eastern red 1 cedar is readily killed by burning, especially when it percent per year initially, but then accelerates such is less than 5 feet in height. It does not have buds that that prairie grasses and forbs can be completely can resprout, so when this plant is defoliated, it dies. displaced by 100 percent tree and shrub cover in less Larger cedar trees will not be killed by fire and must than 40 years. be cut at ground level to be controlled. Much the same response can be obtained with Forage Yield forbs. Western ragweed and western ironweed are May 10 May 5 April 30 April 25 perennial forbs, which can be reduced with two or Cheyenne Rawlins Decatur Norton Phillips Smith Jewell Republic Washington Marshall Nemaha Brown Doniphan Cloud Atchison three consecutive annual burns. Sherman Sheridan Osborne Mitchell Clay Riley Pottawatomie Jackson Thomas Graham Rooks Jefferson April 20 Fire also can reduce the amount of undesirable Ottawa Lincoln Wyandotte Wallace Logan Gove Trego Ellis Russell Dickinson Geary Leavenworth Wabaunsee Shawnee grasses. Low-producing cool-season grasses, such as Saline Douglas Johnson Ellsworth Osage Morris Barton Franklin Miami Greeley Wichita Scott Lane Ness Rush Kentucky bluegrass and annual bromes, are greatly McPherson Marion Lyon Chase Rice Coffey Anderson Linn May 10 Pawnee reduced by a late-spring fire. They are actively Hamilton Kearny Finney Hodgeman Stafford Reno Harvey Butler Greenwood Woodson Allen Bourbon growing at the time of the burn and have difficulty re- Gray Edwards Ford Sedgwick Pratt Stanton Grant Haskell Kiowa Kingman Wilson Neosho May 5 Crawford growing after the burn. Elk Clark Barber Sumner Meade Cowley Morton Stevens Seward Comanche Harper Montgomery Labette Burning to favor desired grass plants should be Chautauqua Cherokee done when they are just starting to green up. The April 30 April 25 April 20 April 15 1 native grasses should have an average of /2 to 2 inches of new growth when they are burned. This Figure 1. Approximate average vegetative green-up dates in Kansas occurs in mid to late spring. At this stage the plants are able to grow quickly. Ideally, the soil profile Forage yield is affected by the timing of the should have adequate water at the time of burning, burn. Research done at Kansas State University has and the surface should be damp. Big bluestem and shown that the earlier the burning date, the lower the Indiangrass are increased when the range is burned forage yield (Figure 2). There is no difference in in late spring. In the tallgrass prairie forage yield between the late spring area, the amounts of sideoats grama, burn and unburned range. blue grama, and buffalograss increase The changes in forage yield due only slightly. Little bluestem and With no burning to the burning date are due to moisture switchgrass decrease or are main- over the long term, and temperature changes. Soil mois- tained by a late spring burn. ture in early burned areas can evapo- Recommended burning dates for prairie grasses and rate at rates as high as one-half inch native warm-season grasses for forbs can be per week. Also, rainfall may not be livestock production are shown in completely taken into soil as readily as on the late Figure 1. It should be noted that these displaced by 100 burned or unburned areas. Soil dates may be as much as 10 days percent tree and temperature rises quickly following the earlier or later depending on growing shrub cover burn as sunlight warms the darkened conditions. Cool season grasses soil (old growth insulates the soil). (smooth brome or tall fescue) are in less than This, along with greater sunlight normally burned in late February or 40 years. reaching newly emerged shoots results March with good soil moisture.