Controlled burns, Southern Wisconsin [OC]

aeharding@vger.social to pics@lemmy.world – 176 points –

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14153828

Controlled burns during my flight today

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I've seen controlled burns in forests to consume fuel so it does not start a wildfire. Why burn a field like that?

Its a common thing that farmers do. It helps them prepare the field after a harvest to use it again.

Hm. So it's like tilling but the nuclear option?

It gets rid of pests, prevents disease and mold from the previous harvest, and returns some nutrients back to the soil quicker....

All that organic matter from the previous video doesn't break down fast enough, this helps it along.

Tricky slope if not regulated well, like in India every farmer in the North does this and they up creating a gas chamber for a few months. Regulation of it has become highly political because that's the majority of voters. So now we just live with extremely bad pollution as part of life.

Wisconsin does this to preserve native ecosystems! I believe this particular land is maintained by the County.

Prescribed fire is the intentional application of fire to a specific pre-planned area, under specific environmental conditions, to accomplish planned land management objectives. Without the use of prescribed burning as a management tool, Wisconsin could lose many of its native grassland, wetland and savanna plant communities.

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/forestfire/prescribedfire

https://www.danecountyparks.com/Volunteer/Prescribed-Burns

https://www.cityofmadison.com/parks/projects/2024-prescribed-burns

First I thought I’d do a controlled fire. Then I thought, “I don’t know how to control fire.” The rest is history.