There is a lot of discussion on whether or not prescribed fires help or hurt the Bobwhite and the Turkey population. Basically saying that the fires destroy active nesting sites, kill lots of insects that these birds need especially when they are young, and give the poults less cover to hide from predators in. I know you speak of the benefits and I believe in this as well... but wouldn't fall burning be a better choice? Can you speak to this issue here, please?
Hi Tim - thanks for the question about fire timing and ground nesting birds like quail and turkey. Timing of prescribed fire is a balance between burning objectives and burn windows. In general, a very small portion of land in the Southeast is burned each year (and only a portion of those occurring during nesting). Burning in the fall could be an option for some, but there are tradeoffs for promoting groundcover and controlling woody encroachment. For example, fall burning would prevent seed production for many native grasses and fall flowering species. Burn windows in the fall tend are also hit or miss - think about the extreme precipitation fluctuations we see from year to year in the fall. We may experience droughts (and wildfire potential) to tropical storm/hurricane rain events. Would be happy to connect further on this subject if you'd like - drop us a note at longleafalliance.org/contact/
Great video LLA Team!
It's exciting to see this on your channel!
There is a lot of discussion on whether or not prescribed fires help or hurt the Bobwhite and the Turkey population. Basically saying that the fires destroy active nesting sites, kill lots of insects that these birds need especially when they are young, and give the poults less cover to hide from predators in. I know you speak of the benefits and I believe in this as well... but wouldn't fall burning be a better choice? Can you speak to this issue here, please?
Hi Tim - thanks for the question about fire timing and ground nesting birds like quail and turkey. Timing of prescribed fire is a balance between burning objectives and burn windows. In general, a very small portion of land in the Southeast is burned each year (and only a portion of those occurring during nesting).
Burning in the fall could be an option for some, but there are tradeoffs for promoting groundcover and controlling woody encroachment. For example, fall burning would prevent seed production for many native grasses and fall flowering species.
Burn windows in the fall tend are also hit or miss - think about the extreme precipitation fluctuations we see from year to year in the fall. We may experience droughts (and wildfire potential) to tropical storm/hurricane rain events.
Would be happy to connect further on this subject if you'd like - drop us a note at longleafalliance.org/contact/