Prescription Fire to Manage Southern Pine Plantations--Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't

Abstract

This paper discusses some ramifications of using herbicides in place of prescription fire on southern pine plantations. The historic role of fire in the South and its use by industrial foresters is briefly recounted. Reasons are given for the shift by industry, from leaders in advocating and using prescription fire to its almost total replacement by herbicides in plantation management during the past several decades. The 1998 Florida wildfires are used to examine the dependence of the timber loss on stand-tending treatments and on the elapsed time sina application. We suggest industry reconsider its decision to exclude prescribed fire in plantation management. Not because it is a necessary silvicultural treatment, but as insurance against plantation loss and because it will make nearby residents feel more secure about the safety of their property during future wildfires.

Citation

Wade, Dale; Outcalt, Ken. 1999. Prescription Fire to Manage Southern Pine Plantations--Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don''t. Proceedings of the TAPPI International Enviromental Conference, April 18-21, 1999, Nashville, Tennessee Vol. 2