Fire Ecology of South Florida Wetlands

The project objective is to determine the importance that season of burning has on the response of vegetation to fire. We have addressed this through the use of experimental prescribed fires at different times of the year. In Big Cypress National Preserve we have established a long-term study of season and frequency of burning in the unlogged hydric pinelands of the Raccoon Point area. This study includes three seasonal treatments: winter (dry season), spring (early wet season) and summer (mid wet season). A shorter study comparing the response to winter and summer burns was carried out in the pine rocklands on Big Pine Key. We are also studying the effect of season of burning on muhly grass (Muhlenbergia filipes), a component of hydric pinelands and often a dominant in short-hydroperiod wetlands known as muhly or marl prairies. We are conducting field and nursery studies to determine how the season of burning effects the rate of recovery of muhly and its ability to tolerate flooding.