I should also add, I have been (very carefully) burning small areas to eliminate excess downed limbs and waste; it's interesting to see how much this stimulates the plants in the area. Following a burn, the growth of grasses and wildflowers is much greater than in un-burned areas. The exception here is spots where I regulary (more than one time) pile and burn waste. These areas tend to be pretty sterile for a while, I believe due to the heat of a fairly intense fire consuming organic material in the soil. This would be similar to what happens when the densly treed, overgrown areas burn.
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