Prescribed Fire and small critters

Hello all!

I have long been aware of the various ecosystem benefits of prescribed fire when done right, however, I've recently been thinking about the impact on wildlife. Various larger animals can easily escape a slow-moving prescribed burn and benefit from the overall ecosystem's effects; but what about the smaller animals?

Specifically reptiles, amphibians, and insects. It seems like a lot of their preferred habitat, like dead herb stems, brush piles, snags, leaf litter, and the like, are getting burned up in these fires. However, at the same time, indigenous groups practiced cultural burning for countless generations across the US, if these smaller animals were in danger because of fires they likely would already be extinct

Does anyone have information on this topic? Anything is appreciated.

Eric S.

I think you make the case right there: the existence of healthy populations of small animals over time proves the beneficial effects of a "natural" fire regime, which in many cases involves intentional burning by indigenous people. In a fast-moving, low-intensity fire burning undergrowth, mortality is probably lower for those animals that can get underground even a short distance, or into logs and bark crevices of larger trees. If the fine fuels accumulate through lack of burning, then the inevitable high-intensity fire that comes through bakes the ground and incinerates the big trees.

That's a good point, Phil. Rather than outrunning a fire like a larger animal, taking shelter is likely the best way they survive. The insulating properties of the soil and the moisture content probably buffer the temperature extremes from the fire, which is already cooler when done in a prescribed fashion. I think that's the missing piece for how healthy populations of these animals could have existed over countless generations of cultural burning, they hunker down.

I also think I need to consider timing, as the importance of leaf litter, dead herb stems and the like is absolutely critical for overwintering various small critters. But, no one is burning their landscapes over the winter, at least not in places that have a true winter that requires overwintering. During the growing season, I imagine mobility is far easier for these animals.

Eric S.