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- Title
Response of Willow (Salix caroliniana Michx.) in a Floodplain Marsh to a Growing Season Prescribed Fire.
- Authors
Lee, Mary Ann B.; Ponzio, Kimberli J.; Miller, Steven J.
- Abstract
In marshes, fire is considered vital in restricting woody invasion and maintaining herbaceous dominance. However, many shrub species are not killed by fire and respond to this disturbance by resprouting. We assessed the response of coastal plain willow (Salix caroliniana Michx.), a common shrub in southeastern wetlands, to a growing season prescribed fire using three metrics: stern density, stem basal area, and cover. We sampled burned and unburned sites before the fire and annually for four years thereafter. Cover of understory species were sampled before the fire and annually for two years after the fire. The initial response of willow was prolific resprouting. However, stem density returned to pre-fire levels by the second year. Basal area and canopy level (>1.5 m) cover decreased after the fire and remained lower throughout the duration of the study. Basal area and canopy cover declined significantly in the unburned site, but the cause of these declines could not be identified. Despite these declines, basal area and canopy cover in the burned sites were lower than in the unburned sites for each of the four years after the fire, although differences were not always significant at the p<0.5. Cover of dominant under- story species, sawgrass (Cladium jamaicense Crantz) and cattail (Typha dotningensis Pers.) declined after the fire and did not recover to pre-fire levels within two years after the fire. Understory species richness increased after the fire.
- Subjects
WILLOWS; SHRUBS; PLANT canopies; MARSHES; WETLANDS; SALICACEAE
- Publication
Natural Areas Journal, 2005, Vol 25, Issue 3, p239
- ISSN
0885-8608
- Publication type
Article