• Research

• Longleaf Pine Research
• Plant Ecology and Biodiversity
• Productivity and Nutrient Cycling
• Long-term Research on Productivity and Biodiver sity
• Ecosystem Restoration
• Conversion From Slash Pine Plantation to Longleaf Pine Ecosystem
• Herbicide as a Management Tool
• Groundcover Restoration
• Adaptive Management of Hardwood Depressions
• Site Classification and Restoration in the Chickasawhatchee Swamp
• Conservation Management
• Aquatics Research
• Wildlife Research
• Research Publications
• Graduate Projects

Herbicide as a Management Tool

Research Team: Dr. Steven B. Jack (Conservation Ecologist), Dr. L. Katherine Kirkman (Associate Scientist), Dr. L. Michael Conner (Associate Scientist), Dr. Lindsay R. Boring (Director), Jennifer Gagnon (Research Technician III), Kimberly L. Coffey (Research Technician IV), Brandon Rutledge (Conservation Intern), Michah Perkins (Research Technician III), and Carlos Wilson (Former Research Associate)

In longleaf pine forests, frequent prescribed fires are essential for preventing hardwood encroachment and maintaining low fuel loads. This facilitates pine regeneration, growth of native grasses and legumes, and provides wildlife habitat. However, there is some concern that prescribed fire may be removed as a forest management tool by regulatory agencies because of air quality issues, particularly the emission of atmospheric particulates. The use of herbicides has been proposed by some as a substitute for prescribed fire in southern pine forests, but very few studies have directly compared the effects of fire and herbicides in the same forest at the same time. Also, most herbicide studies do not focus on ecological effects from the treatment, and we are aware of no studies that examine the results of herbicide application in mature, fire-adapted longleaf pine forests. In this study we compared the effects of prescribed fire, application of a herbicide (Velparâ L) commonly used in longleaf pine restoration projects, and a combination treatment of herbicide followed by prescribed fire in a mature, old-field longleaf pine forest. Specifically, we examined responses in: 1) growth and survival of overstory vegetation, e.g., mature longleaf pine and hardwoods; 2) growth and survival of longleaf pine regeneration; 3) understory vegetation composition and structure; and 4) canopy structure, i.e., canopy openness and leaf area. Our hypothesis was that the ecological effects of fire differ from those of herbicides.

Research in progress, publications forthcoming.

Funded by: The Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center