Current Needs
The health and quality of Missouri’s ecosystems depend on the responsible and consistent use of prescribed fire. The Missouri Fire Assessment finds that we need to be burning 2,635,008 acres statewide per year at the minimum in order to maintain existing landscapes in their current condition and improve ecosystem health and function. Our ecosystems have been harmed by years of past fire suppression, however, prescribed fire can be used to heal them by replicating historical trends.
Prescribed fire has many benefits for landowners and conservationists, like preserving and improving wildlife habitats, increasing biodiversity and managing invasive species. Additionally, prescribed burns decrease fuel loads, minimizing the risk of wildfires in forests and woodlands, which also lessens the potential for devastating impacts to infrastructure and communities. Missouri, in particular, has numerous ecosystem types that are fire adapted, meaning they have evolved in the presence of frequent fires and now rely on them to remain healthy and vibrant (Missouri CSS, 2022).
Ideal annual acres of fire per county
Below we present the ideal number of acres of fire each year from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) for the remaining non-agricultural, undeveloped lands in Missouri. To do this, we first tallied the amount of land covered by each ecosystem per county, then multiplied by the minimum and maximum probability it would burn in any one year. These estimates were totaled per county for the map below. The map depicts these very conservative estimates of the minimum and maximum values. You can click on each county to see the minimum and maximum acreage that should be burned in that county.
Example calculation for a 1,000 acre ecosystem with a 5 year minimum Mean Fire Return Interval (MFRI):
\[ 5yr MFRI =1/5= AnnualProbability = 0.2 \]
\[
AnnualAcresBurned = 1,000*0.2 = 200
\]
This map depicts the minimum and maximum acres of land that should be burned in order to replicate historical trends, and restore the landscapes that have spent millennia adapting to recurring fires. Click on any county to get the county name, total minimum and maximum acres to burn in that county and estimated acres of each ecosystem type that should be burned based on their historical needs.
Historic Annual Burn Acreage, by Ecosystem
Looking across Missouri, we chart the estimated minimum (yellow dots) and maximum (blue dots) acres that would burn annually with the historical Mean Fire Return Interval (MFRI) values. The yellow dots represent the acres of ecosystems that would benefit from prescribed burning, while the blue are what we should aspire to in order to achieve the rates each system is adapted to. As shown here, most of Missouri’s ecosystem types would benefit from prescribed burning to support their restoration and longevity.
