6.4.6 Fire as a Management Tool 



United States government guidelines stress 

 prevention and control of wildfire, but controlled 

 burns are an accepted management tool for forest 

 resources (e.g., see memos of U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, Sept. 14, 1981, April 22, 1982, and April 11, 

 1983). S. Little, a pioneer in the use of fire as a silvi- 

 culturaltool (Little etal. 1948a; Little etal. 1948b; Little 

 1953) recommended burning slash during high- 

 water periods shortly after clearcut harvests to 

 promote cedar regeneration. Complete burning is 

 unnecessary: a fire that consumes only dead foliage 

 and fine branches provides suitable conditions for 

 cedar regeneration (Little and Somes 1961). 



6.4.7 Cedar Wetlands as Firebreaks 



The effect of a cedar swamp on a wildfire 

 varies considerably, depending primarily on the 

 depth of the water table, wind orientation in relation 

 to the stand, wind velocity, and the width of the wet- 

 land. The majority of fires recorded in the New Jer- 

 sey Pinelands have been able to breach cedar 

 wetlands narrower than 300 m when impacted by 



head fires oriented perpendicularly to them. Broader 

 swamps tend to act as firebreaks, especially when 

 the water table is high (Little 1946, 1979; Windisch 

 1987). 



6.4.8 Prediction of Success in Regeneration of a 

 Cedar Stand 



In a cedar stand completely cleared of 

 higher plants by natural forces or clearcut harvest, 

 the major factors to consider when predicting the 

 potential success of cedar regeneration are the size, 

 shape, orientation, age, condition, prior vegetational 

 composition, and hydrology of the wetland, and the 

 forest type and deer population of the surrounding 

 area (Zampella 1987) (see Figure 33). 



A large, broad swamp offers protection to 

 the interior from all border influences, both natural 

 (including deer browse) and human. An adjacent 

 mature cedar stand provides a seed source most 

 effectively when it is to the windward. A stand older 

 than 30 years provides the maximum quantity of seed 

 stored in the top peat layer. Dense canopy sup- 

 presses the grov\rth of a heavy shrub layer which 

 would in turn suppress and compete with cedar 



SIMPLIFIED ATLANTIC WHITE CEDAR MANAGEMENT SCHEME 



FACTORS TO 

 BE CONSIDERED 



MANAGEMENT GRADIENT 



Least Favorat>le Conditions 



Most Favorable Conditions 



ADJACENT FOREST TYPE Hardwood swamp 

 DEER POPULATION High/poor condition 



PROBABILfTY OF SUCCESSFULLY REESTAB- 

 LISHING WHfTE CEDAR AND MAINTAINING 

 SWAMP 



SIZE OF HARVEST CUTTING 



REQUIRED LEVEL OF POST-HARVEST 

 MANAGEMENT SUCH AS SLASH REDUCTION 

 AND CLEANINGS 



REQUIRED LEVEL OF HARVESTING PRECAUTIONS 



Large swamp 



Broad 



Seed source to windward 



Greater than 45 yrs 



Dense canopy 



Pure cedar stand 



Saturated soil 



Upland pine or oak forest 



Low/good condition 



Figure 33. Factors that should be considered in planning a harvest are presented along a conceptual 

 management gradient ranging from the least favorable to the most favorable conditions (adapted from 

 Zampella 1987). 



59 



