Fire in Old Fields at Prairie Moon

The spring 2010 burn season has ended for Prairie Moon.  We use prescribed fire to manage prairie plantings, and in some places to encourage native plants that we have seeded into former pastures.  When properly timed, fire sets back aggressive non-native plants like smooth brome and gives an advantage to native forbs like Biennial Gaura, Nodding Onion and Showy Sunflower.

These old fields are sometimes called surrogate habitat because wildlife will use them for feeding and reproduction as they would a real prairie.  This spring we’ve seen a number of beautiful birds on our land, including Northern Flickers and Eastern Meadowlarks.  Unfortunately the plant diversity of these fields is very poor by natural standards.  Introducing native plants attracts a greater diversity of pollinators, herbivores and other wildlife.  To help these native prairie plants compete against non-natives we use fire, the natural disturbance that prairie has adapted to over thousands of years.