Most of the world’s grasslands evolved with fire, whether ignited by lightning or people. For millennia, flames burned regularly though small patches and vast stretches of prairie landscapes, restoring and sustaining an enormous variety of native grassland plants.
Grasslands have supported a broad array of life over the millennia. Not only have they supported rich biodiversity, but also they shaped the region’s stream flow and groundwater hydrology, contributed to carbon sequestration, and offered many environmental benefits. Additionally, grasslands have provided the basis for agricultural and livestock production.
Researchers have established that fire and grazing in-fluence structure and function of rangeland ecosystems. Fire’s effects in combination with grazing management varies throughout the Great Plains.
The phenomenon of grassland conversion to shrublands and woodlands—known as woody plant encroachment—continues to receive increasing attention in rangelands worldwide.
Oak savannas provide important habitat for plant and animal species adapted to this distinct, but rare ecosystem. Historically, oak savanna sustained bison and elk, but now it also plays a role in cattle
production in some parts of the country.
Climate change has greatly impacted rangeland systems. Changes in rangelands are having dramatic effects on both social and ecological systems. Increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have contributed to a 1° C increase in average global temperature since the industrial revolution.
Fuels management typically involves changing fuel structure or amount. Fuels management in woodlands conjures up visions of burning, tree felling, and mastication among other techniques, but grassland fuels management requires very different approaches.
Prescribed burning is widely accepted as a critical management tool in the tallgrass prairie, however, the ecological effects of burning at different times of the season are poorly understood. In the Kansas Flint Hills, timing of fire is an important management issue that carries socio-economic as well as ecological implications.
Fuel moisture is often listed as an important criteria for ignition in burn plans. Why does fuel moisture matter? Dryer fuels ignite at lower fire temperatures and burn more rapidly and more completely.
Patch burn grazing is burning different patches of a pasture at different times and allowing animals to select where they want to graze. Originally conceived as an alternative to uniform utilization, patch burn grazing manages for vegetation structural diversity to conserve biodiversity while also sustaining the rangeland resource.