Prairie burn planned for Waterworks Park

Stewards of the Park and other volunteers are planning a prescribed burn for the Waterworks Park prairie within the next two weeks.

?We may be able to burn as soon as Saturday, April 2,? said volunteer Detra Dettmann. ?The weather conditions are looking favorable right now, but we will have to see what the day brings.?

Managing prairies with prescribed burns has many benefits. Unburned prairies leave a mantle of dead and decaying vegetation that stifles the growth of the prairie plants and deprives plants of space and light. Plant diversity after a burn increases for six to seven years and then the stifling growth once again occurs, but annually burned grasslands also create small plant diversity.

The burn also helps release nutrients in the dead vegetation so it can be used by the new growth. The blackened soil heats up fast by absorbing solar energy, thus stimulating speedy seed germination, sprouting and growth.

Burning also helps in controlling shrubs invading the prairie. Without burning, many of the prairies would eventually turn in forests.

The Waterworks Park prairie burn is part of a series of Backyard Conservation programs sponsored by the Fairfield Go Green Commission, Iowa State Extension and other partners.

For more information about Backyard Conservation, call the Extension office at 472-4166 or visit www.fairfieldgogreen.com.