We are fired up about burning for healthy forests!
Hot Times
March 22nd, 2011 Filed Under Blog
It is starting to get hot. So what is new? It happens every year. Be cautious. Pine trees scortch easily in warm weather. Lonfleaf pine is candling and subject to severe damage. Older trees can be burned under by selecting conditions where the fuel moisture is higher, maybe 10 – 13, say an RH of 40+ and a temp of 80 or less. Plan the day so most of the burning is done early in the diurnal cycle, say 8 AM to 12 noon. Then lay off until about 4 PM and try to finish up. Plan burn block size to fit the window. Whatever you do don’t get in a hurry and try to speed things up with strip head fires or by bringing the corners along. Flank fires can get pretty hot too. Spots are cooler but can get too hot as well. Patience is a virtue and an essential ingredient for late spring burning.
As a very general rule of thumb, pine trees grow at about 5% a year. Scorching can reduce the annual growth. That is equivalent to taking a deduction on interest at the bank. In fact if you really turn the whole crown brown, the tree may survive, but you will lose the whole years growth. If you are managing for critters it may not be a big deal but if you are managing for future revenue, retirement or a college fund, you may take a substantial hit.
A well planned burn executed with close attention to the planned factors, weather, fuels, etc. can produce good results and should be the objective of every prescribed burn. Cavalier attitudes and shoddy planning an execution can lead to less than optimum burning. What is your goal?
Minimize risk. Maximize benefit. All at a reasonable cost.
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