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Controlled burn
Technique to reduce potential fuel for wildfire through managed burning / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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A controlled or prescribed (Rx) burn is the practice of intentionally setting a fire to change the assemblage of vegetation and decaying material in a landscape. The purpose could be for forest management, ecological restoration, land clearing or wildfire fuel management. A controlled burn may also refer to the intentional burning of slash and fuels through burn piles.[1] Controlled burns may also be referred to as hazard reduction burning,[2] backfire, swailing or a burn-off.[3] In industrialized countries, controlled burning regulations and permits are usually overseen by fire control authorities.
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Controlled burns are conducted during the cooler months to reduce fuel buildup and decrease the likelihood of more dangerous, hotter fires.[4] Controlled burning stimulates the germination of some trees and reveals soil mineral layers which increases seedling vitality.[5] In grasslands, controlled burns shift the species assemblage to primarily native grassland species.[6] Some seeds, such as those of lodgepole pine, sequoia and many chaparral shrubs are pyriscent, meaning heat from fire causes the cone or woody husk to open and disperse seeds.[7]
Fire is a natural part of both forest and grassland ecology and has been used by indigenous people across the world for millennia to promote biodiversity and cultivate wild crops.[8] Colonial law in North America and Australia displaced indigenous people from lands that were controlled with fire and prohibited from conducting traditional controlled burns.[9] After wildfires began increasing in scale and intensity in the 20th century, fire control authorities in began reintroducing controlled burns and indigenous leadership into land management.[10][11]