Influence of burning and grazing on soil nutrient properties and tree growth on a Georgia Coastal Plain site after 40 years

Abstract

Soil analysis of a study area in the Coastal Plain of Georgia indicates that 40 years of grazing and prescribed burning have had no adverse effect on concentrations of total nitrogen, available phosphorus, exchangeable bases, or organic matter in mineral soil. Burning alone reduced organic matter and nutrients in the forest floor and tended to increase them in the surface 6 inches of mineral soil. Grazing did not affect soil nutrient properties nor did grazing interact significantly with prescribed burning. Results indicate that well-managed grazing in conjunction with prescribed burning has no adverse effects on site quality for longleaf-slash pine-wiregrass sites.

Citation

McKee, William H.; Lewis, Clifford E. 1983. Influence of burning and grazing on soil nutrient properties and tree growth on a Georgia Coastal Plain site after 40 years. In: Proceedings of the Second Biennial Southern Sivicultural Research Conference; 1982 Nov. 4-5; Atlanta, GA: 79-86.