Prescribed Burning In Selection Stands of Southern Pine: Current Practice and Future Promise

Abstract

The selection silvicultural system as practiced in stands of the major southern pines is briefly reviewed and the past and present role of prescribed burning in each is discussed. A detailed discussion is given of the burning practices in uneven-aged stands of longleaf (Pinus palustris) in which repeated fire is both highly effective and nearly essential as a management tool. A promising scheme to adapt cyclical burning to the management of other less fine-adapted pine species under selection management is discuseed along with a sketch of research and pilot testing needed to bring such a scheme into practice.

Citation

Farrar, Robert M., Jr. 1998. Prescribed Burning In Selection Stands of Southern Pine: Current Practice and Future Promise. In: Pruden, Teresa L, and Brennan, Leonard A. eds. Fire in ecosystem management: shifting the paradigm from suppression to prescription. Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference Proceedings, Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FL, 20: 151-160.