Every few years it’s good to burn the woods! If you don’t burn piney woods, they turn into oak woods. Burning cuts down on the small oaks, vines, and undergrowth, puts potash in the soil, and lets the pines come up. Longleaf especially benefits from burning, since it survives burns especially well, and it only sprouts if its seeds land on bare mineral soil (not leaf litter or vine buildup).

I lit these woods 20 February 2008. Pictures by Gretchen.