Prescribed Burning at Selu Conservancy

Like tall-grass prairies of the North American midwest, the grassland at the Selu Conservancy is a fire-maintained ecosystem, creating open habitat for birds, small mammals, and many plant species. Many of the grasses and forbs (wildflowers) grow to heights of 6-12’ tall (e.g., big bluestem, switchgrass, Indian grass, sweet smooth oxeye sunflower, wild bergamot) and benefit from periodic fires. These carefully managed burns return nutrients to the soil, increase the amount of sunlight reaching the ground, and greatly enhance plant growth. This grassland, in turn, provides a unique and essential habitat for many species of birds, small mammals, and insects at Selu. Under the direction of Jeff Armistead, Director of the Selu Conservancy, faculty, staff and students from Radford University conduct prescribed burn every two to three years. The lush regrowth of vegetation (shown in the final pictures) occurred just three months after the spring fire. The vegetation and small mammal communities were surveyed by Dr. Christine Small, Dr. Karen Francl, and Radford University Biology research students.

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