The Nature Conservancy of Canada and the University of Saskatchewan have conducted the first in a series of prescribed burns to learn how to influence where cattle and bison graze and how fire, as a natural disturbance, changes the plant community.
“This project was designed to encourage collaboration between agencies interested in addressing complex environmental issues. Fire suppression across the Canadian prairies over the last 100 years has decreased the variety of habitats available to native species, which have adapted to periodic disturbances by fire and grazing,” U of S Ph. D candidate Dale Gross said in a news release.
The burn took place at the Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area in southwest Saskatchewan, the release said.
The small burn patches will help U of S researchers learn if the grass that grows back following a fire attracts animals to underused parts of a pasture. Fire makes a quick reduction in the height of vegetation, and it changes the growing conditions for the plants. The regrowth of plants after a fire attracts grazing animals, which benefit from the higher protein content of the grass.
The burns create a mix of varied vegetation heights that result in a variety of habitats for grassland species while maintaining forage for grazing cattle and bison. Fire may also be used to reduce some of the invasive plants growing at the area.
This work is all part of ensuring that the conservation area continues to be a healthy home for the birds and animals that live there, as well as a working ranch that provides quality forage for ranchers partnering with NCC, the release said.
NCC and the U of S worked with local livestock producers, using GPS collars to track cattle and bison movements. Meewasin Valley Authority provided equipment and expert personnel to support the project.
