Prescribed Fire Effects on Advanced Regeneration in Mixed Hardwood Stands

Fire treatments were initiated in 1990 to evaluate effects of low-intensity prescribed fires on composition and structure of the advanced regeneration pool under mature mixed-hardwood stands on upland sites in the Piedmont of South Carolina. One spring burn was as effective as three winter burns in reducing midstory density, considered a prerequisite for subsequent development of oak (Quercus spp.) advanced regeneration. Burning increased the number of oak rootstocks, reduced the relative position of competing species, and increased root-to-shoot ratios of oak stems in the regeneration layer. These favorable effects of fire on oak regeneration outweigh the removal of small, poorly formed oak stems from the midstory/understory strata during burning. Prescribed burning in hardwood forests may solve some of the current oak regeneration problems, especially on better upland sites in the South. South. J. Appl. For. 22(3):138-142.