Almost all grass fires are caused by citizens. Quite often, such fires get out of control and spread rapidly over large areas.

Almost all grass fires are caused by citizens. Quite often, such fires get out of control and spread rapidly over large areas.

Despite the fact that the grass fire season lasts only a few weeks, it is widespread. It is scientifically proven that grass fires do not benefit the soil and vegetation. Also, during grass fires, a very large number of animals and birds that live in dry grass, as well as insects, perish. It should also be noted that burning grass releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which adversely affects the well-being of people, especially those suffering from respiratory diseases. Grass fires lead to various damages to outbuildings, to fires in residential buildings, which in turn can cause burns and even deaths of people.

Myths about grass fires

Myth 1: Burning grass warms the soil and enriches it with ash, as a result of which new grass appears faster and grows better in burnt areas.

The effect of faster grass growth after grass fires is deceptive: dry grass simply hides young green shoots, while green grass is clearly visible in blackened burnt areas. The soil is insignificantly warmed by a runaway grass fire, but at the same time, the buds and seeds of grasses on or near the surface of the earth, useful microorganisms, and small animals perish.

As for fertilizing the soil with ash, a grass fire adds nothing new: the mineral nutrients contained in the ash would anyway get into the soil during the decomposition of dry grass (and in summer, in the heat, it decomposes very quickly). After the fire, the resulting ash does not penetrate the soil, but remains on its surface, and the very first heavy rain washes it into streams and rivers, where it has no business being. That is, no enrichment with ash occurs.

Myth 2: If you burn grass in the spring, it will kill all ticks, vipers, and other dangerous animals, pests, and useful animals and birds will manage to escape/fly away.

Ticks and vipers may not escape. But. Burning dry vegetation leads to the destruction of clutches and nesting sites of birds such as the mallard, garganey, lapwing, redshank, snipe, reed bunting, and corn bunting.

woodlark, calandra lark and crested lark, meadow pipit (burnt bird nests with traces of eggs are very often found on burnt areas). Animals, reptiles, amphibians can also perish and suffer in fires: especially newborn leverets, hedgehogs and hoglets, toads, frogs. In case of a strong grass fire, almost all animals living in dry grass or on the soil surface perish, many insects, their larvae, pupae, as well as earthworms and other creatures that destroy various garden and vegetable pests and participate in the soil formation process. Some burn, some suffocate in the smoke.

Myth 3: Everyone is burning, so it must be done. Why should I be worse? As a rule, in this case, the logic is as follows: if I don't set fire to the grass near my village now, and the wind is blowing away from the houses, they will set fire to it in the neighboring village, and the wind will blow towards mine.

As strange as it may seem, such "competitions" do happen. At the same time, pyromaniac summer residents do not understand that burning neighbors is not good, the wind can change sharply, the fire can go around the village and return from the rear.