Using Prescribed Fire in the Silviculture of Slash Pine

Authored By: J. Kush

Slash pine occurs naturally within 150 miles of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts from South Carolina, to Louisiana, and throughout most of Florida. It is represented by two varieties: from central Florida northward by the common variety, typical slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm. var. elliottii), and in southern Florida by the South Florida strain (Pinus elliottii var. densa Little and Dorman).

Virgin stands of slash pine were largely confined to ponds or pond margins and to narrow strips along creeks, bays, and other minor drainages where ample soil moisture or standing water protected the young trees from wildfires, and to hummocks in the Everglades that provided sufficient elevation above the water level for pines to grow.

Fire is both an agent of destruction and a valuable tool in the management of slash pine. Young trees are quite susceptible to injury by fire until they are 10 to 15 feet tall and have bark thick enough to insulate the cambium from lethal temperatures. Even mature stands may be damaged by head fires in areas with large fuel accumulations. The principal uses of fire in slash pine management are for site preparation, hazard reduction, and control of understory vegetation. Fire also improves forage production for livestock and habitat for wildlife.

For additional information on the use of prescribed fire in the silviculture of slash pine, see:

Managing Slash Pine, from the manual Silvicultural Systems for the Major Forest Types of the United States (Burns 1983), provides information on how prescribed fire can be used in combination with different silvicultural systems to manage slash pine.
Silvics of Slash Pine, from the on-line Silvics of North America (Burns and Honkala 1990), provides information on slash pines habitat (range, climate, soils, topography, associations), life history (reproduction and early growth, sapling and pole stages to maturity); special uses; and genetics.
Fire Ecology and Management of Slash Pine Flatwoods, from the Fire Ecology section of this encyclopedia, provides a review of historical fire regimes in the slash pine range, fire effects, and the use of fire for ecological restoration and maintenance.
Pinus elliotii, from the on-line Fire Effects Information System, provides a review of the fire ecology, fire effects, and management considerations of slash pine.