Fire as a Tool in Southern Pine 



519 



prolific growth. Longleaf and slash 

 pine seedlings came in profusely fol- 

 lowing wildfires just previous to es- 

 tablishment of fire protection. Dense 

 stands resulted, understoried by rank 

 growths of the tolerant palmetto, gall- 

 berry, and grasses. Pine needle cast, 

 which lasts many years without ap- 

 preciable decay, drapes over the lower 

 pine branches, bushes, and grass ac- 

 cumulations and creates a floor of man- 

 high fuel heaps. By measurement, 

 there were 25 tons of flash fuel per acre. 



As the fuel accumulated, the dan- 

 ger of fire increased constantly. Dur- 

 ing the long dry periods in late spring 

 and early summer, the stands reached 

 almost explosive conditions. Whether 

 a fire was caused by man or lightning, 

 a moderate wind could fan it into a 

 fast-running crown fire before a man 

 could reach it. Then the only chance 

 of breaking the head lay in backfiring 

 a road that might be several miles 

 away. Burns of thousands of acres were 

 in prospect, particularly because the 

 highest incidence of incendiarism in 

 the country is found in parts of this 

 vulnerable region. 



The manager of such a forest land 

 must calculate carefully his risks. On 

 the one hand, can he burn out the fuel 

 at a cost of about 15 cents an acre and 

 the equivalent of one-half of a year's 

 growth of his stand when a killing ac- 

 cumulation of fuel develops? On the 

 other hand, should he take a chance 

 that wildfire will not get into his stand 

 when it is worth upwards of $20 an 

 acre? The factors he must take into 

 account are frequency of incendiary 

 fires, the amount of local sentiment 

 against having range go back to tim- 

 ber, the probability of accidental fires, 

 the size and location of his investment 

 with regard to constant surveillance, 

 and the degree of certainty to which 

 local fire forces can be relied upon to 

 hold incendiary settings of fire to small 

 size. He might also have to consider 

 the chances of fire that exist when a 

 plantation or an equally valuable 

 stand of natural young growth is lo- 

 cated in an area of high risk near a 



settlement, railroad, sawmill, or a fre- 

 quented fishing site. 



6. Scrub oak control. Following 

 heavy cutting on longleaf ridges, scrub 

 oaks tend to take over the sites, produc- 

 ing a closed canopy that excludes pine 

 reproduction. Some observers believe 

 that fire can be used to thin out or 

 even remove these scrub oak thickets. 



7. Planting preparation. Burning 

 just before planting removes the 

 "rough," or mat of dead grasses and 

 leaves, and facilitates planting opera- 

 tions. Brown spot disease is removed 

 from whatever volunteer seedlings are 

 present, and infection in planted stock 

 is reduced. Also, it insures the costly 

 plantation from destruction by wild- 

 fire during its most vulnerable period. 



8. Wildlife burns. In many areas 

 under complete fire protection, the 

 food supply of deer, turkey, quail, and 

 other wildlife decreases seriously and 

 game birds lose nesting places. There 

 is evidence that fire can be used to 

 increase game foods and keep nesting 

 areas open and sanitary. Sites burned 

 for such purposes are an insignificant 

 fraction of wooded areas, and the de- 

 sired effects may often be provided by 

 burns carried out for other purposes. 

 However, for the guidance of those 

 land managers who choose to practice 

 multiple use and make some sacrifice 

 of timber production to favor wildlife, 

 a program of prescribed burning is 

 obligated to test and assess methods 

 and scope of fire use for such a purpose. 



9. Exploration in the loblolly and 

 shortleaf pine types. Indications are 

 that fire can have a favorable effect 

 under certain limited conditions. 



The sites recently subjected to heavy 

 cutting particularly need study. Typi- 

 cally, most of that ground is covered 

 with logging debris and litter, which 

 keeps the seed from reaching mineral 

 soil or smothers the seedlings. Usually 

 present are numerous shrubs, vines, 

 and brush and worthless hardwood 

 species, which grow vigorously and 

 close over the site when the canopy is 

 removed by logging. Thus they prevent 

 most of the random pine catch from 



