Perhaps we need to consider controlled burning of our Big Woods remnants in how we manage for future biodiversity. Before we take such a step, we need controlled experiments, and we also need to took for evidence of such fires from the past. I am currently searching for evidence of fires in the form of microscopic charcoal fragments that would have been produced by such fires and later deposited into lake sediments just like pollen is deposited. Conclusions Study of the Big Woods has improved our understanding of the ecology of the prairie-forest border and has highlighted the many varied effects of climate on vegetation. For the Big Woods, climate can change fire frequency to shift the balance between prairie and forest.
More fire means more prairie and less fire means more forest.