Where Fire Brings Life

I stepped out of my car to the sound of birds filling the air with splendid musical notes and the crisp afternoon breeze hitting my skin. I was parked surrounded by savannah grasses and trees with the afternoon sun shining down. Today was an exciting day, I was there to document a vital conservation effort. A rare fire dependent ecosystem called an Oak Savannah was due for a prescribed burn. This nature preserve is located in Michigan and is managed by a non-profit organization called the Michigan Nature Association. MNA works to protect over 10,000 acres in the state.

I arrived at the nature preserve early so I could hike around and take in the scene. The first thing I noticed was how different this open field was compared to what I’m used to seeing. When you think of an open field, your mind typically imagines a farm field, a field full of turf grass, or maybe even an overgrown field full of a few different species of grasses, weeds and shrubs. When someone stops managing a lawn, pasture or farm field it will turn into what you would typically see. Aggressive and invasive grasses like Barnyard grass or Horsetail would first take over. Eventually, invasive shrubs like autumn olive and honeysuckle would start to take hold. Finally, this open habitat would turn into a young forest with a mixture of trees like red oak and black cherry. This process is called ecological succession and it is what will naturally occur in an unmanaged field. On the surface, this seems like it is great for the environment, but it is far from that. 

Once all the workers arrived on sight, I could tell how excited everyone was to be a part of something so important. People began moving like a colony of ants, grabbing backpack sprayers, dressing in fire PPE, and unloading extra equipment. Before I knew it, we were gathered on the NW corner of the burn unit moments away from lighting the fire. The burn boss presented to the group what the plan was in order to conduct the burn. I could tell that the plan was well thought out in order to safely and efficiently complete this prescribed burn. After all questions were answered and everyone got assigned their tasks, it was time to start the fire.

At first, the fire seemed reluctant to come to life. Like the very act of spreading would inevitably lead to its snuffing out. After some time and encouragement, it began to spread out among the savannah floor, turning the ground in its wake to ash. I ran around with my camera like a chicken with its head cut off. There were so many interesting compositions unfolding at once and I didn’t know what to pay attention to. As the black expanded behind the fire, so did the smoke fill the air. Through squinting teary eyes, I tried to capture the scene unfolding before me the best I could. 

You might be asking yourself, why is fire so important for this ecosystem?

These fire dependent ecosystems evolved around the occurrence of fire. Naturally, fires can start from lightning strikes, but these were uncommon. Native Americans deliberately started wildfires often and for a variety of reasons. They would stimulate a better berry harvest and to help with hunting by driving game. A fire would also open up the landscape to aid in visibility and protection from enemies. These fires would usually be low intensity and would eventually burn themselves out, releasing crucial nutrients back into the soil and reducing the amount of woody shrubs in the landscape. This prevented canopy closure and the dominance of woody vegetation in the landscape.

According to Michigan State University Extension, Michigan was once covered in approximately 2,000,000 acres of savanna; currently, only 8,000 acres remain. That is a 99.6% loss of savannas in Michigan. This loss is directly linked to human activity through agriculture, fire suppression, and development. As Europeans settled into Michigan around the early 1800s, so did the radical decline of savannas occur. These savannas contained loamy soils and little trees, making them perfect for converting them into farmland. If these savannas weren’t converted into farmland they were often selected for towns.

The fire continued to move across the landscape at a slow but steady rate. As I wandered along the line of fire, I noticed the workers all focused on their assigned tasks. One walked back and forth behind the fire to ensure it didn’t jump, another sprayed stumps with water to prevent them from catching fire and another used a drip torch to continuously encourage the fire to spread.