On the prohibition of burning dry vegetation
The Beshenkovichi District Inspectorate of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection reminds about the PROHIBITION of agricultural fires and burning of dry vegetation.
In accordance with Article 16.40 of the Code of the Republic of Belarus on Administrative Offenses:
for illegal burning of dry vegetation, standing crops, as well as stubble and post-harvest residues in fields, or failure to take measures to extinguish fires, guilty persons shall be brought to administrative responsibility in the form of a fine ranging from ten to thirty basic units;
for lighting fires in prohibited areas, except for violations of fire safety requirements, for which responsibility is provided for by other articles of the Special Part of the said Code, shall entail the imposition of a fine of up to twelve basic units.
In addition, illegal burning of dry vegetation, standing crops (except for lawns, flower beds, forest litter, living ground cover), as well as stubble and post-harvest residues in accordance with paragraph 3 of the Regulation on the procedure for calculating the amount of damage caused to the environment and drawing up an act establishing the fact
causing environmental damage, approved by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus of July 17, 2008 No. 1042, is a fact of environmental damage and entails civil liability.The amount of compensation for environmental damage is determined by the tariffs approved by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of June 24, 2008. No. 348 "On tariffs for determining the amount of compensation for environmental damage".
Statistics show that the absolute majority of grass fires are caused by human negligence, and only 5 – 10% of ecosystem fires are caused by meteorological conditions.
Since a significant portion of dry grass fires in spring are set with good intentions, it is worth mentioning the apparent benefits of such fires and comparing them with the damage caused by grass fires.
The main argument of supporters of burning last year's grass is that it enriches it with ash, as a result of which on the burnt areas
on plots, grass appears faster and grows better.Specialists assure that ash remaining after burning grass does not affect soil quality improvement, as nitrogen compounds are lost (the main part of nitrogen bound in vegetation is released into the atmosphere, becoming unavailable for the vast majority of plants).
Mineral elements contained in ash pass into a soluble form and easily wash away with surface and groundwater. Only a small part of them is absorbed by plants.
After a grass fire, only grasses that reproduce by rhizomes, such as couch grass, sprout again. Honey-bearing flowers, cultivated grasses suitable for feeding domestic animals, including hay harvesting, reproduce by seeds, and seeds are burned during grass burning.
The combustion process is accompanied by the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, oxygen is consumed. Fertilizers and pesticides residues burn in the fire, forming volatile toxic organic and inorganic compounds. Burning grass along roads leads to air pollution with heavy metals.
In
The species composition of meadow vegetation and wildlife is impoverished as a result of burning dry grass. Wherever fires have passed, the former variety of grasses will not be found, and weeds will "capture" the freed territory.
Invertebrates, insects, frogs, lizards, and other animals perish in the fires. Burning dry grass causes the death of clutches and nesting sites of birds such as the mallard, lapwing, reed bunting, corn bunting, field lark, wood lark, and crested lark. The nesting period for these birds begins right at the beginning of April.
The Beshenkovichi District Inspectorate of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection appeals to the residents of the district to approach this problem with understanding and a sense of civic duty, and to prevent agricultural fires and the burning of dry vegetation!