EEL FIRE MANAGEMENT MANUAL -- Prepared by The Nature Conservancy

Natural Community- Pine Flatwoods (Stage 3)

FUEL MODEL: Either Fuel Model 4 or Fuel Model 7 could represent the fire behavior of this stage.  Model 4 is used for modeling intensity variables.  Model 7 is used for modeling rate of spread (Anderson, 1982).  These fuel type usually generates high intensity and high severity.

TYPICAL FIRE BEHAVIOR:   [Using FBPS: FM 4/7, FFM 8, LFM 100, MFW 5 - 10] (Refer to page 32)

* Note:  Model 4 underestimates flank-fire flame length.  Local experience has shown that this flame-length is typically 1 ½ the surface fuel height.

DESIRED STAGE:  Flatwoods - Stage 1 (grass dominated flatwoods).  Open yellow pine overstory.  Pyrrhic grasses dominate groundcover vegetation and palmetto is short in a vertical stem or short "gator-back" growth form less than 2 feet in height.  Typical flatwoods shrub species such as gallberry and Lyonia appear much less dense in terms of cover dominance.  Fuel Models 2 or 7.

RESTORATION/MANAGEMENT PROTOCOL

  • Restoration Phase:
  1. Selective thinning and "pocket cut" timber harvests to restore open character of yellow pine overstory.
  1. Mechanical treatment of dense palmetto cover with tree-cutter or roller chopper type equipment to reduce palmetto over-dominance.  Care should be taken in treatment design to avoid any soil disturbance from roller chopper tine digging or "root tip up".
  1. Post mechanical fuel reduction (dormant season) prescribed fires.  Care should be taken to choose weather/moisture parameters that create low fire intensities yielding moderate to mild fire severity.
  1. Follow-up of exotics management should exist where exotics are in or surrounding the treatment area.

  • Maintenance/Management Phase:
  1. Growing season and mixed season series of  prescribed fires at a 1 to 4 year fire interval.
  1. Follow-up of exotics management should exist where exotics are in or surrounding the treatment area.

  • Special Management Concerns:
  • Soil disturbance as avenue for exotics.
  • Degradation of wiregrass complex from equipment trampling.
  • Hydrologic/topographic alteration such as ditching and fire-plow scars as impacts to fire process.
  • During restoration phase, excessive overstory pine mortality due to over-aggressive burning strategies or selection of fire behavior parameters that are too extreme.

General Fire Effects & Management Considerations

79