Study Number: 

4037

Project Title:

Pre-burn survey of overstory vegetation at Jacobs Branch and Devils Den burn sites, 1989.

Investigator(s):

Barry Clinton  E-Mail | Tel. 828.524.2128 | Biographical Sketch
Affiliated Institution(s): USDA Forest Service
Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory
Address: Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory
3160 Coweeta Lab Road
Otto, North Carolina 28763   USA
Study Category: Regional
Project Type: Type 1
Study Period: 1989
Notes:

 

Funding Source(s):

Man and Biosphere Program, Southern Appalachian Forest Ecosystems Project, US Forest Service

Abstract: On three sites in the southern Appalachians, stands characterized by sparse overstories and dense Kalmia latifolia shrub layers were felled in early summer and burned in early fall. Amounts of aboveground vegetation and forest floor mass, nitrogen (N), and carbon (C) were measured before and after treatment by sampling wood, foliage, herbs and grasses, and forest floor (Oi and Oe+Oa layers). Burning decreased woody mass by 48 to 60% across the three sites. Significant losses of mass, N, and C occurred in the Oi layer, but not in the Oe + Oa layer. Total aboveground N losses across sites ranged from 193 to 480 kg ha_-1_. These losses may be significant because N availability is low on these sites. Variations in patterns of mass, N, and C consumption were related to differences in amounts, types, size distributions, and moisture contents of fuels.
Location(s), Described: Devils Den, Jacobs Branch West, Jacobs Branch East.
Location(s), Download GPS: ArcView Shape Files (shp.):  Decimal Degrees  |  UTM, NAD83, Zone 17
Location(s), Online Map(s): Online Map
Methods/Experimental Design: All vegetation greater than 10.2 cm DBH was measured on each 15 x 33 meter plot with a DBH tape. Measurements were made in winter 1989. DBH measurements were converted to total tree woody biomass using the general allometric equation of Clark and Schroeder (1986).

Site codes:
1 - Jacobs Branch West
2 - Jacobs Branch East
3 - Devils Den

Treatment codes:
0 - pre-burn
1 - immediate post-burn
2 - 2 years post-burn

Species codes:
0 - unknown
1 - Abies fraseril Poir., Fraser Fir
3 - Acer rubrum L., Red Maple
4 - Acer saccharum L., Sugar Maple
5 - Aesculus octandra Marsh., Yellow Buckeye
6 - Amelanchier arborea Michaux f., Serviceberry/Sarvis
7 - Betula lenta L., Sweet/Black Birch
10 - Carya glabra (Miller),Sweet Pignut Hickory
13 - Castanea dentata (Marshall) Borkh., American Chestnut
14 - Castanea pumila Miller, Allegheny Chinquapin
16 - Cornus Florida L., Flowering Dogwood
18 - Fagus grandifolia Ehrh., American Beech
23 - Liriodendron tulipifera L., Yellow/Tulip Poplar
28 - Nyssa sylvatica Marshall var. sylvatica, Black Tupelo/Blackgum
30 - Oxydendron arboreum (L.) DC, Sourwood
31 - Pinus echinata Miller, Shortleaf Pine
32 - Pinus rigida Miller, Pitch Pine
33 - Pinus strobus L., Eastern White Pine
34 - Pinus virginiana Miller, Virginia Pine
38 - Quercus alba L., White Oak
39 - Quercus coccinea Muenchh., Scarlet Oak
40 - Quercus falcata Michaux, Southern Red Oak
41 - Quercus marilandica Muenchh., Blackjack Oak
42 - Quercus prinus L., Chestnut Oak
43 - Quercus rubra L., Northern Red Oak
44 - Quercus stellata Wangenh., Post Oak
45 - Quercus velutina Lam., Black Oak
47 - Robinia pseudoacacia L., Black Locust
48 - Sassafras albidum (Nutt.), Ness Sassafras
52 - Rhododendron maximum L., Rosebay Rhododendron
53 - Kalmia latifolia L., Mountain Laurel
54 - Alnus serrulata(Aiton) Willd., Hazel Alder
64 - Gaylussacia baccata (Wang.)K. Koch, Black Huckleberry
68 - Ilex opaca Aiton, American Holly
75 - Rhododendron calendulaceum(Michaux) Torrey, Flame Azalea
90 - Vaccinium stamineum L., Gooseberry
91 - Vaccinium vacillans Torrey, Lowbush Blueberry

Sampling Frequency: Variable
Data Columns:

site - coded variable for sampling site; codes described in Methods/Experimental Design
treatment - coded variable for treatment type; codes described in Methods/Experimental Design
plot - plot number
species - species code; codes described in Methods/Experimental Design
dbh - dbh in centimeters
size class - coded variable for size class

Missing Data Codes:
-9999

Publications:

Elliott, K.J., J.M. Vose, B.D. Clinton. 2002. Growth of eastern white pine (Pinus strobes L.) related to forest floor consumption by prescribed fire in the southern Appalachians. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry. 26(1): 18-25.

Clinton, B.D., J.M. Vose, W.T. Swank. 1996. Shifts in aboveground and forest floor carbon and nitrogen pools after felling and burning in the southern Appalachians. Forest Science 42(4):431-441

Clinton, B.C., J.M. Vose. 2000. Plant succession and community restoration following felling and burning in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Pages 22-29 in W. Keith Moser and Cynthia F. Moser (eds.). Fire and Forest Ecology: innovative silviculture and vegetable management. Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference Proceedings, No.21. Tall Timbers Research Station, Talahassee, Florida, USA.

Vose. J.M., B.D. Clinton, W.T. Swank. 1993. Fire, drought, and forest management influences on pine/hardwood ecosystems in the southern Appalachians. 12th Conference on Fire and Forest Meteorology, Oct. 26-28, Jekyll Island, Georgia, USA.

Vose, J.M., B.D. Clinton, W.T. Swank. 1993. Site preparation burning to restore pine-hardwood stands: aboveground biomass, forest floor mass, nitrogen carbon pools. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 23:2255-2262.

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Metadata: EML Format (XML Schema) | Information about EML
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