"Falling" for Prescribed Fire

A landowner burns his grassland on Oct. 25, 2019 in north-central Nebraska

On October 25, 2019 a crew of 20 friends, neighbors, and volunteer firefighters, including Northern Prairies Land Trust biologists, teamed up to burn 290 acres of pasture in the Middle Niobrara Biologically Unique Landscape (north-central Nebraska).  The burn is unusual because ranchers in the area have been hesitant to burn grasslands in the fall. They worry that the loss of plant cover could cause sandy soils to blow away over the long winter.

The mixed-grass sand prairie on Sept. 13, 2019 prior to prescribed fire. Fire will burn off old thatch and “decadent” little bluestem growth, allowing more wildflowers and more palatable grass to grow.

The landowners and their grazing tenant have burned before and enjoyed multiple benefits from their prescribed fires. They appreciate that the burns improve grass production and control eastern redcedar trees and seeds before they grow tall enough to reduce grazing potential and increase tree removal costs. This year they decided to experiment with some different timing.

A couple days after the October 2019 burn taken from the same spot as the photo above, looking down the burn line. Notice the uncontrolled cedar growth on the neighbor’s property across the fence, negatively affecting grassland wildlife habitat and grazing potential.

Burning in the fall allowed the cattle producers to avoid the pressures of spring calving season that can interfere with burning. It was easier for them to find help and the fall weather was more predictable. By including fall and early winter in their burn plans, they had more opportunities to burn. As of February 2020, they have not observed any soil movement on the burned area.

Cedar seedlings the day of the October 2019 burn.

The same cedar seedlings slowly turning orange a week later, indicating that they have died.

Burning in the fall has benefits for woodlands as well. Woodlands burn better in the fall than in the spring because dry, freshly fallen leaves carry the fire. Woodland burns control the number of cedars in the forest, especially in areas where terrain limits the ability to cut or spray cedar seedlings as they emerge. Fewer cedars in the forest means fewer cedars spreading out into grasslands and allows more sunlight to reach the forest floor. More sunlight means more forage for cattle and more native plants to support pollinators and insects in general, which are the anchor for woodland food webs. The direct sunlight is necessary for the next generation of oak and pine trees to grow.

Northern Prairies Land Trust staff light leaf litter in a fall oak woodland burn in November 2016.

Fire moves through grass in a pine savannah in November 2018.

Fire moves through leaf litter at Ponca State Park in northeast Nebraska in December 2017.

Hunters take note: exposed acorns in forests burned in the fall are a magnet for deer and turkey throughout the remaining fall and winter. A game camera left on a tree during one of our burns in November 2016 documented deer using the burn area the same night of the burn, undeterred by the unusual activity. In the spring, those same deer and turkey will be drawn to the burn because the dark-colored ground is the first place to warm and green up. In the long-term, healthy forests produce abundant acorn crops for game animals and insects for turkey broods.

A woodland burn is captured on a game camera in November 2016 at 7:24 pm.

Deer were back on the burn before the sun had risen the next day. Notice the bright embers in the background.

We benefit the most native plants, pollinators, and other wildlife species by burning at different seasons over the years, including spring, growing season, and fall burns. Our grasslands and woodlands need fire to be healthy. Different plants and animals benefit most from fire at different times of the year. By changing fire timing in a pasture or woodland over time, we can maximize our cattle production and our biodiversity.

This is the same woodland in the game camera image above, the following spring. This ranch had invested in cedar removal from the oak woodland several years previously and the burn was follow-up maintenance on that investment with excellent cedar sapling kill.

Interested in burning for improved cattle production and wildlife habitat? Consider joining your neighbors in a local prescribed fire association.

Ranchers of the Niobrara Valley Prescribed Burn Association team up to burn a complex of oak woodland, pine savannah, and sand prairie in November 2018.