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HILLSBOROUGH: Estate’s meadows burned to spur regrowth

   The New Jersey Forest Fire Service conducted a prescribed burn of 15 acres of meadow at Duke Farms on Saturday in conjunction with a workshop on habitat regeneration hosted by the Joint Conference of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Ecological Society of America and the Society for Ecological Restoration.
   ”We are in the process of restoring large areas of the property to a more natural habitat,” said Timothy M. Taylor, executive director of Duke Farms. “Our main goal for the burn was to eradicate non-native and invasive plant species, a process that is vital to our stewardship activities. Since this is done so infrequently in the area, we wanted to share the experience with other environmental groups and municipal officials in the region.”
   ”Fire has been used for centuries as a habitat regeneration tool,” said Gene Huntington, director of natural resources at Duke Farms. “This burn will promote seed germination of native grasses and plants, help to improve wildlife habitat and benefit the entire ecosystem as we restore the area to a native meadow. It also will reduce thatch and the potential for wildfires.”
   In 2007, Duke Farms initiated a four-step process to regenerate many of its landscapes so that they could become more viable as wildlife habitats for native plant and animal species. The control and removal of invasive plant species is a critical step in that process, which must be followed with replanting using hardy native plants. The data collected in all phases of the process, and particularly from this burning, also will be shared with other organizations to assist them with developing their own plans for invasive plant species removal and regeneration of healthy, bio-diverse habitats.
   Many invasive plants were introduced to North America from other parts of the world and some continue to be commercially sold, such as Japanese barberry. Due to the fact that invasive plants tend to have few, if any, natural predators or parasites, they are aggressive competitors for space and nutrients and can crowd out native vegetation. Invasive plants can alter the composition and function of natural ecosystems and affect wildlife that depend on native species as a source of food or shelter.
   At Duke Farms, a total of 183 acres have undergone invasive plant management and 75 acres have been restored to native meadows. In 2008, more than 30,000 native plant species were planted on the property, made possible with the help of volunteers from local businesses and community organizations who donated more than 1,000 hours of their time. To support regeneration efforts, Duke Farms also has established a limited native nursery on the property strictly for its own use, and currently is propagating another 30,000 plants for planting this spring as regeneration efforts continue.
   Members of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service conducted the controlled burn process at Duke Farms.