Prescribed Burns
Restore. Protect. Enhance.
“Each year, Anoka County Parks manage 200 acres through prescribed burns. That is about the size of 151.5 football fields! ”
Fire is used to restore, maintain, and control invasive species in prairie and savanna ecosystems. Prairies and savannas are fire dependent; with the absence of fire they tend to degrade and change to a system that is dominated by woody plants. To restore these areas and keep them thriving, fire is used to clear the accumulated duff layer, set back the growth of encroaching woody vegetation, and release nutrients that are locked up in dead vegetation.
Fire also helps to control invading cool season plants, like turf grass that thrives in the spring and fall. Controlling invasive herbaceous plants is another function of fire. Most of the invading plants are cool season plants, while the desirable native plants are mostly warm season plants. Spring fires will set back the invaders since they’ve already been using energy reserves for spring growth while the warm season plants are still laying low until the air and soil temperatures warm. The blackened soil resulting from the burn allows the warm season plants to take advantage of the warming soil and lack of competition to get ahead of the cool season plants.