Fire pits

[Exeldama]

Anyone have any useful design ideas.. i have done bush fires since i was little but with my own wood i would want something more permanent but unobtrusive.

[RichardKing]

My son built a couple when camping in our woods a few years ago. basically a "U" shaped tunnel. works very well, fuel is small dry sticks. Dont build the fire hole too big or the pots will fall in. Air hole needs to be bigger so you can poke a stick in to rake it. Easy to fill in.

[tracy]

Richard, do you have a copy of photos of it? I could put them up for us to see it.

[Keith Williams]

I do survival type courses and we use fire pits, not as a permanent feature, but to avoid burning or charring the surface. Fill in when finished and brush over leaving no trace you've been there! Pics http://s538.photobucket.com/albums/ff347/greyfox_kjw/NaturalPathways/

[Stephen1]

If it's a conifer woodland beware having even the most carefully tended fires - the spores of the fungus Rhizina undulata need the high temperatures of fires to germinate. The soil at some point near or below the fire needs to reach 40 degrees C. This will then causes nearby conifers to start dying 5 years or so later. Not really a problem in Broadleaved woods though.

Just because you clear the surface of a fire site so as to leave no visible trace doesn't mean you've had no impact. On the plus side though some specialist critures need charred wood!

[Keith Williams]

Another point, it's apparently possible to set fire to the roots of conifers which can burn underground. Best to have the fire in an area of deciduous trees anyway.

[RichardKing]

I have to say that I have previously been unaware of either of these theoretical risks, but my woodland has not succumbed from either.

Can you direct me to any recently documented examples in Southeast England ?

[Keith Williams]

Richard, http://www.woodlands.co.uk/blog/practical-guides/how-to-light-a-fire-without-matches/ refers to any roots - I think conifers are more prone as they are more resinous. Many survival schools have (apocryphal?) stories of root fires causing a ring of trees to ignite round a camp site!!

[Stephen1]

Hi Richard

Good place to start is the U.K. Forestry Commission Book "Diseases and Disorders of Forest Trees" by Gregory and Redfern. I'd recommend it to anyone as a very good basic text on diseases of trees in woodland.

It is often suggested to be a particular problem amongst Breckland Pine plantations. Common enough though on acidic soils in the S.E.. Let me know if you want any more information on this "theoretical" risk.

It tends not to be something people become aware of through experience because of the time lag between the fire and any signs of a problem. The difficulty in making the connection with a fire of some 5 years ago is compounded by the fact that Rhizinia often just weakens the trees enough for a secondary fungus such as a honey fungus to provide the killing blow.

As I say although some books suggest it as a mild problem in broadleaved woods as well - I have never personally seen a single example of it anywhere other than scots / corsican pine and sitka spruce

Of course what is meant by disease in a woodland is a good question. The death of a few trees is almost always to the benefit of the ecology of the woodland. The problem with Rhizinia is that once the spores have germinated in can pass from tree to tree through root contact and cause a suprisingly large group of trees to die.

Best place to get specific examples in the S.E. of England - I'm in Wales- would be to write to

Forest Research

Alice Holt Lodge

Farnham

Surrey GU10 4LH

UK

or perhaps

Bill Jones

231 Corstorphine Road

Edinburgh

EH12 7AT

Or just google it?

[RichardKing]

Anyone know of any real life examples of this stuff ?