Fire Management of Coastal Marshes: Research Needs

Despite the high ecological significance of southeastern salt marshes, federal and state land-holding agencies currently lack sufficient information on fire effects in these ecosystems to manage fuels effectively and simultaneously conserve species of special concern.  In recent years, both land managers and scientists have called for research on the effects of shifting season of burn in coastal marshes (Gabrey and Afton 2000, Gabrey and Afton 2004) and some have suggested that past landscape alteration may need to be considered (Schmalzer 1995, Wade 1991).  Targets for evaluation should include fire behavior, plus potential changes over time in fuel load, vegetation structure and composition.  Of special interest is the relative use of different types of burned area by subspecies of seaside sparrows and other secretive marsh birds and fire effects on potential food sources (arthropods and seeds) and nest sites.