DOCUMENT

Name:   Dormant-Season Prescription Fires to Reduce Hazardous Fuel Loads on the South Carolina Coastal Plain: Establishing a Demonstration Area on a 40+ year study - Final Report

Date Published:  2001

Document Type:  report

Brief Description:  Final Report: Frequent burning will control midstory hardwoods. Burning does not affect overstory pine longevity. Even infrequent burning will control fuel buildup. Burn frequency affects understory composition and richness. Managers have options to keep down fuel loads and prevent wildlife hazard.

Complete Description:  Frequent Burning will control midstory hardwoods. Prior to treatment, plots were dominated by loblolly and longleaf pine with some pond pine in wetter areas. Control plots developed a midstory layer of hardwoods that has changed very little since 1970. All of the burn treatments have kept hardwoods from growing into the midstory, although there are a few taller than 2 m in the 4-year burn plots. Thus, if significant hardwoods are not present, burning even every 3 or 4 years will keep pine stands in this coastal plains region open enough for Red Cockaded woodpecker (RCW) habitat. Burning does not affect Overstory Pine Longevity. A major concern of mangers is retention of large overstory pine for RCW. Pine basal area declined in most plots because of mortality from hurricane Hugo, but prescribed burning did not kill any overstory pines. Therefore, managers can apply prescribed burning for its many benefits without undue risk of losing the overstory pine component. Even infrequent burning will control fuel buildup. All burning treatments significantly reduced understory and ground fuel loads. The annual burn plots had the lowest fuel level, but even the 4 year burns plots had substantially less fuel than unburned controls. Thus, any of the treatments could be used to keep fuel loads down and reduce wildfire hazard to a reasonable level. Burn Frequency affects understory composition and richness. All burn treatments reduced understory woody cover, but there is some recovery between fires. Because of the longer return interval with 3 and 4 year burn cycles, woody cover from tree sprouts and shrubs dominates the understory on these plots. With annual or biennial burn intervals grasses and forbs become the dominant understory species, although wood species are still present. The most understory species will occur on areas burned annually and decreases as burn interval increases. Managers have options. Burning every 3 or 4 years is sufficient to keep fuel loads down and reduce wildfire hazard. This is the only treatment needed to maintain stands with overstory pines, keep midstory hardwoods from developing, have some herbaceous species in the understory, and maintain habitat suitable for RCW. If other habitat, like grass dominated for special bird species is desired, a burn cycle of 1 or 2 years can be used to create these conditions.

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Dormant-Season Prescription Fires to Reduce Hazardous Fuel Loads on the South Carolina Coastal Plain: Establishing a Demonstration Area on a 40+ year study

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Distribution ®	Format ® Online Source: http://jfsp.nifc.gov/JFSP_Products_2.htm http://jfsp.nifc.gov/projects/01B-3-1-03/-1B-3-1-03_Final_Report.pdf Fees: none Instructions: Contact principal investigator Kevin Outcalt at USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Athens, GA 30602, koutcalt@fs.fed.us, 706-559-4309. The report is available through JFSP at http://jfsp.nifc.gov/JFSP_Products_2.htm or directly at http://jfsp.nifc.gov/projects/01B-3-1-03/-1B-3-1-03_Final_Report.pdf
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Keyword(s):	FRAMES subject categories fuels FRAMES subject categories prescribed fire GACC regions Southern none final report none JFSP
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