Long Term Site Responses to Various Winter Prescribed Burning Schedules in Southern Pine Flatwoods

The study was established in 1958 on the Osceola National Forest in north Florida by the Macon Fire Lab to determine the optimum prescribed burning rotation in the palmetto/gallberry fuel complex and to determine changes in soils and vegetation associated with frequency of fires. The study is located on a well drained site that supports a natural stand of longleaf pine (with some slash) with a palmetto-gallberry understory. Study design is a randomized block with 6 replications of 4 treatments. Treatments are 1, 2, and 4-year burns and a control. Plot dimensions are 4 x 5 chains resulting in a 2-acre plot. Fuel and vegetation data have been collected pre- and post- burn along with fire behavior and weather data each year. To determine the optimum prescribed burning rotation in the palmetto/gallberry fuel complex and to determine changes in soils and vegetation associated with frequency of fires.