Editing Controlled burn (section)

{{Short description|Technique to reduce potential fuel for wildfire through managed burning}}
{{Redirect|Back-burn|the village in Scotland|Backburn|the Canadian group|Backburner (hip hop group)}}
{{Distinguish|Control of fire by early humans}}
[[File:USFWS Resilient Landscapes (17223539378).jpg|thumb|Prescribed fire in ponderosa pine forest in eastern Washington, United States, to restore ecosystem health]]
[[Image:Burn9582.JPG|thumb|Firing the woods in a South Carolina forest with a custom made [[driptorch]] mounted on an [[All-terrain vehicle|ATV]]. The device spits flaming fuel oil from the side, instantly igniting the [[leaf litter]].]]
[[File:Prescribed burn in a Pinus nigra stand in Portugal.JPG|thumb|A prescribed burn in a ''[[Pinus nigra]]'' stand in Portugal]]
[[File:Controlled burn-1.jpg|thumb|Near [[Holmen, Wisconsin]]]]
[[File:Helderberg Nature Reserve Ecological Controlled Burns.jpg|thumb|An [[aerial view]] of a controlled burn in [[Helderberg Nature Reserve]] in South Africa bordering the city of [[Cape Town]]. In South Africa controlled burns are important for maintaining the ecological health of indigenous [[fynbos]] as well as reducing the intensity of future burns.]]

A '''controlled burn''' or '''prescribed burn''' ('''Rx burn''') is the practice of intentionally setting a fire to change the assemblage of vegetation and decaying material in a landscape. The purpose could be for [[forest management]], [[ecological restoration]], land clearing or [[wildfire]] fuel management. A controlled burn may also refer to the intentional [[Slash-and-burn|burning of slash]] and fuels through burn piles.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-9405/NREM-2894web.pdf |title=Managing Brush Fires |date=February 2017}}</ref> Controlled burns may also be referred to as hazard reduction burning''''',<ref>{{cite web |title=What is Hazard Reduction |url=http://www.hillside.rfsa.org.au/fwhaz.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009145122/http://www.hillside.rfsa.org.au/fwhaz.htm |archive-date=2019-10-09 |access-date=2009-03-10 |website=www.hillside.rfsa.org.au}}</ref> '''''backfire''''', '''''swailing or a burn-off.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gage |first=Nicola |date=25 August 2016 |title=Burn-off rule change upsets Adelaide Hills residents |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-25/burn-off-rule-change-upsets-adelaide-hills-residents/7786080 |website=ABC News}}</ref> In industrialized countries, controlled burning regulations and permits are usually overseen by fire control authorities.

Controlled burns are conducted during the cooler months to reduce fuel buildup and decrease the likelihood of more dangerous, hotter fires.<ref>[http://www.hillside.rfsa.org.au/lowintensityhrburn.pdf Guidelines for Low Intensity Bushfire Hazard Reduction Burning] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190312012412/http://www.hillside.rfsa.org.au/lowintensityhrburn.pdf |date=2019-03-12 }} Retrieved on 11-3-2009</ref> Controlled burning stimulates the [[germination]] of some [[tree]]s and reveals [[soil]] mineral layers which increases seedling vitality.<ref name=":7" /> In [[grassland]]s, controlled burns shift the species assemblage to primarily native grassland species.<ref name=":3" /> Some [[seed]]s, such as those of [[lodgepole pine]], [[Sequoiadendron giganteum|sequoia]] and many [[chaparral]] shrubs are [[Serotiny|pyriscent]], meaning heat from fire causes the cone or woody husk to open and disperse seeds.<ref name=":8" />

[[Fire]] is a natural part of both [[forest]] and grassland [[ecology]] and has been used by indigenous people across the world for millennia to promote biodiversity and cultivate wild crops, such as [[fire-stick farming]] by [[aboriginal Australians]].<ref name=":9" /> Colonial law in [[North America]] and [[Australia]] displaced indigenous people from lands that were controlled with fire and prohibited from conducting traditional controlled burns.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fahnestock |first=George R. |date=1986-07-01 |title=''History of Forest and Prairie Fire Control Policy in Alberta.'' By Peter J. Murphy. (Edmonton: Alberta Energy and Natural Resources, 1985. xiii + 408 pp. Illustrations, maps, bibliography, appendix, index. Paper $15.00 Canadian.) |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/4004885 |journal=Journal of Forest History |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=139 |doi=10.2307/4004885 |jstor=4004885 |issn=0094-5080|url-access=subscription }}</ref> After wildfires began increasing in scale and intensity in the 20th century, fire control authorities began reintroducing controlled burns and indigenous leadership into land management.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":11" />