History and Legacy of Fire Effects 

in the South Carolina 

Piedmont and Coastal Regions

Lindsay H. Fairchilds and Carl C. Trettin

United States

Department of

Agriculture

Forest Service

Southern

Research Station

General Technical

Report SRS–98
Authors:

December 2006

Southern Research Station

200 WT Weaver Blvd.

Asheville, NC 28804

Lindsay H. Fairchilds, Ecologist and Research Associate, 

College of Charleston, Department of Geology and Environmental 

Geosciences, Charleston, SC; Carl C. Trettin, Project Leader and 

Soil Scientist, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, 

Center for Forested Wetlands, Charleston, SC.

Cover photo: Prescribed burn on the South Carolina Department of 

Natural Resources Webb Center in Hampton County, SC. Prescribed 

fires serve a variety of functions for wildlife management areas. Photo 

courtesy of South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
History and Legacy of Fire Effects in the South 

Carolina Piedmont and Coastal Regions

Lindsay H. Fairchilds and Carl C. Trettin

Contents

 Page

Abstract................................................................................................................................................ 1

Introduction.......................................................................................................................................... 1

Location and Physiographic Provinces ............................................................................................... 2

History of Fire in South Carolina........................................................................................................ 3

Presettlement Period .............................................................................................................................. 3

Settlement Period ................................................................................................................................... 4

Contemporary Period ............................................................................................................................. 6

Variability in Fire Regime and Type ................................................................................................... 9

Fire Effects in South Carolina Forests................................................................................................ 10

Erosion ................................................................................................................................................... 10

Nutrient Loss and Soil Productivity ...................................................................................................... 12

Forest Floor............................................................................................................................................ 14

Mineral Soil ........................................................................................................................................... 15

Vegetation .............................................................................................................................................. 16

Productivity ........................................................................................................................................... 16

Composition........................................................................................................................................... 17

Regeneration .......................................................................................................................................... 19

Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................... 20

Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................ 20

Literature Cited ................................................................................................................................... 21

Appendix A—Plant Species List ........................................................................................................... 25

Appendix B—Conversion Factors......................................................................................................... 27

iii

1

Abstract

Agriculture, fire suppression, and urbanization have drastically altered 

natural forest processes and conditions since humankind settled in the 

Southeastern United States. Today, many of South Carolina’s forests 

are dense and overstocked, with high fuel loads. These conditions 

increase the susceptibility of forests to southern pine beetle attack 

and wildfire. These threats are further complicated by rapid urbanization and forest fragmentation, processes that are increasing South 

Carolina’s wildland-urban interface at a rapid rate. Prescribed fire is 

an effective, economical, and widely used tool for reducing fuel loads 

and encouraging desired vegetative communities in forest landscapes. 

However, research into the effects of prescribed fire often generates 

more questions than answers. This paper considers fire effects on soil 

erosion, nutrients, and vegetation from a historical perspective. We 

examined historical fire regimes, land use changes, and fire research. 

The majority of literature indicates that soil erosion does not occur 

unless a severe climatic event follows prescribed fire. There is also 

evidence of a fertilization effect in the soil following prescribed fire, 

although this is typically of short duration and accompanied by some 

nutrient loss in the forest floor. Effects of prescribed fire on the productivity, composition, and regeneration of vegetation are more complex 

and ambiguous. Effects are primarily determined by antecedent local 

conditions and fire severity and intensity. Knowledge of past land use 

and fire’s biological and historical roles in land use change can support 

effective decision making. This knowledge will provide guidance for 

sustainable management of forest resources and reduction of hazardous 

forest fuel conditions. 

Keywords: Fire, fire effects, fire history, prescribed burn, wildlandurban interface.

Introduction

Decades of wildfire suppression have led to large fuel 

accumulations and have changed the structure and composition of many forest communities in South Carolina. 

Forest research and management over the past 30 years 

show that prescribed fire is an effective and economical 

tool for reducing fuel loads and encouraging desired plant 

communities. Prescribed fire achieves management goals 

by reducing wildfire and therefore human health and safety 

risks, increasing abundance and diversity of desirable 

understory species, and improving wildlife habitat and 

esthetics. In recognition of a need for more management 

of fuels and habitat, President Bush signed the Healthy 

Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to reduce the threat of 

destructive wildfires, help save lives, and protect threatened or endangered species, acknowledging prescribed fire 

as one of the major tools to achieve these goals. 

The challenges for improving forest conditions and 

reducing fuel loads are significant, and are complicated 

by forest fragmentation and urban growth. These land 

use changes also undermine implementation of effective 

landscape-scale prescriptions. Urbanization in the South 

is forecast to continue at its current rate of 1.1 million 

acres per year (conversion of forest or agricultural land to 

urban or industrial use; Wear and Greis 2002), and much 

of the development will occur in the Coastal Plain. For 

example, a study forecasts that urban land use will triple 

in the Charleston area in the next 30 years (Allen and Lu 

2003), and this change in land use is certain to cause a loss 

of forest land. The influx of people and businesses into 

the forested landscape also increases the border area and 

proximity between human communities and the forest; this 

area is termed the wildland-urban interface. Additionally, 

the recent epidemic of the southern pine beetle that began 

in the late 1990s was recognized in the Healthy Forests 

Restoration Act. In 2003, South Carolina had a record loss 

of $225 million in pines killed by the southern pine beetle 

(South Carolina Forestry Commission 2003). This loss 

could be alleviated by opening dense, stressed pine stands 

and encouraging herbaceous vegetation, and prescribed 

burning produces both of these effects. Accordingly, the 

high fuel loads and development pressures make it necessary to focus management treatments on reducing fuel 

loads and sustaining the value of managed forest tracts. 

History and Legacy of Fire Effects 

in the South Carolina Piedmont and 

Coastal Regions

Lindsay H. Fairchilds and Carl C. Trettin
2

There is uncertainty about the long-term effects of 

prescribed fire on ecosystem functions, largely because 

most studies have been conducted over short periods 

(e.g., 2 to 5 years) and because research has produced 

conflicting results. Christensen (1987) wrote that “the 

literature on fire is a bit like the holy scripture; by careful 

selection of results, one can ‘prove,’ for example, that fire 

increases, decreases, or has no effect on nutrient availability . . . .” If we are truly concerned about sustainability, 

then understanding the effects of fire on multiple generations of plant communities is an imperative. The objective 

of this paper is to examine historical fire regimes and 

available research on fire effects on soil erosion, nutrients, 

and productivity in South Carolina. This synthesis is 

intended to give land managers and the public a knowledge base for developing sustainable land management 

prescriptions.

Location and Physiographic Provinces

South Carolina has two dominant physiographic regions: 

the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont (fig. 1). A small Blue 

Ridge region exists in the upper northwestern corner of 

the State and will be discussed with the Piedmont section. 

The Piedmont region begins at the foothills of the Blue 

Ridge Mountains along the Brevard fault line and makes 

up about two-thirds of northwestern South Carolina. Soils 

in the Piedmont may be deep or shallow to bedrock, but 

much of this area is characterized by poor and shallow 

soils that have been affected by 150 to 300 years of agricultural disturbance (Richter and others 2000). These 

areas are steep to gently sloping and are often dissected by 

networks of gullies. Piedmont forests are generally classified as oak-pine associations where hardwoods have taken 

over the once even-aged old-field pine stands. Dominant 

species include scarlet, southern red, and white oak; 

Virginia, loblolly, and shortleaf pine; and hickories. Many 

stands in the Piedmont are small privately owned tracts 

(Meyers and others 1986). 

Fire in the “Wildland-Urban interface” is concern for fire mangers. The Legends fire in Myrtle Beach, SC, resulted in a neighborhood 

evacuation.

Photo courtesy of South Carolina Forestry Commission.
3

The South Carolina Coastal Plain transition occurs at the 

fall line that runs from southwest to northeast through the 

center of the State. Soils of this area are sandier and slopes 

broader and flatter. In this paper, areas classified as flatwoods and tidewater regions are interpreted as suborders 

of the Coastal Plain. Coastal Plain forests are classified as 

the southeastern evergreen forest association and consist 

predominantly of longleaf, loblolly, shortleaf, and pond 

pines. Other major species include various oaks, hickories, 

sweetgum, and red maple (Meyers and others 1986). 

History of Fire in South Carolina

Presettlement Period

It is believed that humans arrived in Eastern North 

America about 12,000 years ago, in the Pleistocene 

(Delacourt and Delacourt 1987). There is evidence that 

natural fires maintained the pine-grassland ecosystem 

in the Southeast before the coming of humans (Cooper 

1961; Komarek 1965, 1974; Van Lear and Waldrop 1989). 

During the presettlement period (defined as the period 

before first European settlement), fires were ignited 

periodically by lightning strikes (Komarek 1964, 1965, 

1974) and occurred most commonly in the spring and 

summer (during the growing season). These fires were 

only constrained by natural fuel breaks created by water 

or topography. Because such fuel breaks are less common 

in the flatter Coastal Plain, this area had a higher fire 

frequency than did the Piedmont, which is more dissected 

(Frost 1993). 

Native Americans are also reported to have used controlled 

fire to manage the natural landscape. In South Carolina, 

the Chickasaws, Cherokees, Creeks, and Westos altered 

the natural landscape to suit wildlife, settlement, and agricultural needs (Silver 1990). Christensen (1981) estimated 

that lightning-caused fires and fires set by aboriginal 

peoples burned the understory of longleaf forests at a 

Figure 1—South Carolina physiographic regions.
4

frequency of 1 to 15 years during presettlement. Frost 

(1993) estimated the frequency of lightning fires to be 1 to 

3 years on the Coastal Plain, 4 to 6 years on the Piedmont, 

and from 7 years to no burn on uplands. Historically, 

recurring low-intensity lightning fires sustained firetolerant or fire-dependent (pyrophytic) plant communities 

of longleaf pine savannas (Frost 1993). 

Frost (1997) suggested that the impact of fire ignited by 

Native Americans was greater on the upper Piedmont than 

in the coastal region, as the upper Piedmont historically 

did not burn as frequently. Additionally, Native Americans 

set fires in the fall, winter, and spring in South Carolina 

(Lawson 1967). This change in seasonal regime reduced 

fuel potential for lightning-induced summer burns (White 

2004). However, it is unlikely that Native Americans 

significantly altered burn frequency (White 2004). 

Settlement Period

Around 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon began exploration of 

the bottomlands and Coastal Plain forests; English colonization of the Charleston coast followed around 1608. 

Hernando de Soto is credited with charting the South 

Carolina Piedmont frontier. Spanish-commissioned de 

Soto and his crew of over 600 men worked a route up to 

the South Carolina Piedmont through the Gulf side of 

Florida around 1540 (Walker 1991). 

Early accounts from settlers indicate that longleaf 

pine–wiregrass and longleaf pine–bluegrass communities 

dominated in coastal South Carolina, while the Piedmont 

had longleaf, shortleaf, and loblolly pines with some 

pine-hardwood transition areas along rivers and streams 

(Sargent 1884, in White 2004). In his travels, Bartram 

(1958) described areas of the Southeast as “expansive, 

airy pine forests . . . of great long-leaved pine . . . the earth 

covered with grass, interspersed with an infinite variety of 

herbaceous plants.” Historical accounts place hardwoods 

such as oaks and hickories along rivers and above the fall 

line (Hammond 1883). 

Europeans brought with them new strains of viruses that 

led to a decline in Native American populations; some 

authors speculate that the Native American population was 

reduced by 90 to 95 percent (Carroll and others 2002). 

Smoke management is a major concern for urban areas near historically burned forest land. This smoke plume was from the Legends 

fire in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Photo courtesy of South Carolina Forestry Commission.
5

Table 1—Historical changes in major land use classes in the 

Southeastern United States and South Carolina

Year Forest land Cropland Pasture Urban a Other b

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - percent - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Land use distribution in the Southeastern United States

over time (modified from Frost [1993])

Presettlement 69.3 — — — 30.7

1900 52.9 19.6 c — 1.0 27.5

1990 49.3 16.3 5.0 8.0 21.4

Land use distribution in South Carolina over time

(U.S. Department of Agriculture [ n.d.])

1945 53.4 26.5 3.2 5.0 11.9

1959 60.4 23.4 4.9 7.6 3.7

1974 64.1 18.4 3.5 8.3 5.7

1997 64.4 13.1 2.4 11.1 8.9

a

Includes urban, rural transportation, rural parks and wildlife, defense and industrial, 

miscellaneous farm, and special uses.

b

Includes unclassified uses such as wetlands, marshes, swamps, bare rock, deserts, tundra, and 

other uses.

c

Includes cropland and pasture.

Colonial land use before 1780 was of relatively low intensity and included hunting, trapping, and woodland grazing 

for cattle and hogs. Early colonists also exported naval 

stores, destroying large stands of longleaf pines (Silver 

1990). Naval stores production continued until rice cultivation superseded this practice in coastal areas. The entire 

longleaf pine region (including South Carolina) was fully 

settled by 1750 (Frost 1993). White (2004) suggests that 

alteration of fire season and frequency may have been the 

most important human influence on the environment in the 

region during this early settlement period, particularly for 

mesic sites. 

After 1780 and with the advent of the cotton gin, land use 

shifted dramatically (table 1). Corn and cotton cultivation were widespread on the South Carolina Piedmont, 

while rice and indigo farming dominated in the Low 

country. Slash-and-burn conversion of forest land to 

corn and cotton agriculture was “frequent, extensive, and 

high intensity disturbance” (White 2004). Longleaf pine 

harvesting occurred on a large scale for wood and fuel, 

supported by expanding wood markets and infrastructure. 

Although the area of forest land was reduced during settlement, some believe the shift in plant communities was 

the most dramatic change. Fire exclusion replaces diverse 

longleaf-grassy understory ecosystems with hardwood 

trees and large shrubs (Komarek 1974, Waldrop and others 

1992). Frost (1993) calculated that the area of native 

longleaf pine forests of the Southeastern United States 

was reduced from 56 million to 27 million acres between 

the presettlement period and 1900. Large-scale agricultural abandonment occurred after 1800, and the resultant 

landscape was highly fragmented and disturbed (White 

2004). As agricultural and grazing practices resulted in a 

dramatically disjointed landscape, the frequency of lightning fires was undoubtedly reduced. Prescribed fire was 

used to improve existing grazing lands, but this practice 

was substantially reduced following the Civil War. Farmers 

used fire to control agricultural infestation of boll weevils 

in South Carolina, but these efforts were largely unsuccessful. There are also accounts of destructive wildfires in 

turpentine orchards of longleaf pine, which were located in 

coastal areas. Although fire was still widespread at the end 

of the colonial period, it is likely that fire frequency and 

severity were reduced as fuel breaks resulting from land 

fragmentation prevented most large fires from burning 

great areas of forest. 
6

Contemporary Period

The enactment of fire prevention laws and implementation 

of wildfire suppression policies began during the early 

decades of the 1900s. National strategy and public education efforts were aimed at controlling and suppressing fire. 

In the 1920s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest 

Service was opposed to burning on forested lands (Pyne 

1982). Regeneration efforts prompted foresters to keep 

site disturbance to a minimum; thus, fire was excluded 

on these historically disturbed lands. Drought-induced 

fires that occurred in the 1930s and 1950s provided some 

evidence of the need for prescribed fire to reduce wildfire 

hazard (Van Lear and Waldrop 1989). Although some 

forest managers and researchers understood the benefits of 

fire much earlier, it was not until the mid-1970s that these 

benefits were fully acknowledged. Forest regeneration in 

the absence of fire resulted in a successional shift from 

longleaf pine to hardwoods and less fire-tolerant species 

such as loblolly pine on forest lands and reforested agricultural lands (White 2004). 

As part of its approach for dealing with the Great 

Depression and under the Weeks Law of 1911, Franklin 

Roosevelt’s administration approved acquisition of 

the Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests in 

1936 (table 2; fig. 2). These forest lands, totaling about 

618,000 acres in South Carolina, were predominantly 

eroding farmlands or extensively cutover forests. The 

Civilian Conservation Corps worked to “retire the 

farmlands, control soil erosion, regulate stream flow, 

and produce timber” (U.S. Department of Agriculture 

Forest Service, FMSNF). The land was slowly restored 

and is considered productive again . The South Carolina 

Forestry Commission was created by the General 

Assembly in 1923 with the same ideals of forest land 

preservation (South Carolina Forestry Commission 

2003). 

Fire managers in the Southeast face many challenges based on land-use changes. Prescribed fires are set to mimic natural historical 

processes and reduce wildfire fuels. 

Photo courtesy of South Carolina Foresty Commission.
7

Table 2—National forests and Ranger Districts in South Carolina

National Forest 

 Ranger Districts Area Location Counties

acres

Francis Marion 252,000 Southeastern Berkeley, Charleston

Sumter

 Andrew Pickens 84,000 Northwestern Oconee

 Enoree 161,000 Central Chester, Fairfield, Laurens,

 Union, Newberry

 Long Cane 119,000 Western Abbeville, Edgefield,

 Greenwood, McCormick,

 Saluda

Figure 2—South Carolina map with national forest districts defined.
8

Aside from a slow and steady conversion of agricultural 

use to forest use, land use in South Carolina remained 

relatively stable between 1945 and 1980. Between 1980 

and 1992, a shift from agricultural to forest use continued 

in the upper South Carolina Coastal Plain, but rapid population growth and urbanization around Myrtle Beach and 

Charleston provided the main change on the Coastal Plain. 

Since the 1980s, land use patterns in the southern forest 

landscape have changed substantially. Generally, forest 

land decreases driven by urbanization have been offset by 

conversion of agricultural land to timber production (Wear 

2002). 

Currently, total forest land constitutes about 12.5 million 

acres or about two-thirds of the land in South Carolina 

(Smith and others 2004). Smith and others (2004) also 

estimated that nonindustrial private landowners own > 9.1 

million acres of this land (fig. 3). These privately owned 

tracts are often much smaller than publicly owned ones 

and are prime candidates for residential development. This 

is important as increased fragmentation has led to a larger 

area of wildland-urban interface, increasing the threat to 

human health and safety and the need to reduce fuels. 

Loblolly-shortleaf currently covers 44 percent of the forest 

land in South Carolina, longleaf-slash 4 percent, the oakpine association 12 percent, oak-hickory 20 percent, and 

bottomland hardwoods 20 percent (Connor and Sheffield 

2000) (fig. 4). The main impact of fire in the southeastern 

pine region has been the maintenance of pine forest (Smith 

and others 2000). 

Table 3—Summary of annual fire use in South Carolina

Fire type and

location

Total number 

of fires

Total 

acres

Forest land 

burned a

percent

Wildfire b 

 Statewide 4,950 29,009 0.2

Prescribed fire c

 Statewide 13,306 420,126 3.4

 Coastal 6,296 227,522 1.9

 Pee Dee 4,157 121,868 1.0

 Piedmont 2,853 41,727 0.3

a

Numbers taken from Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests 2002 

statistics and represent numbers from the national forests.

b

Numbers taken from 5-year average, FY 1998 to 2002, South Carolina 

Forestry Commission.

c

Numbers taken from FY 2002 prescribed fire summary, South Carolina 

Forestry Commission.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Million acres

Bottomland

hardwoods

Oak-hickory

Oak-pine

Longleaf-slash

Loblolly-shortleaf

Figure 4—Forest land cover in South Carolina (Conner and Sheffield [2000]).

Figure 3—Area of forested land by ownership class in South Carolina. 

Adapted from Smith and others (2004).

The South Carolina Forestry Commission (2003) estimates that about 30,000 acres of forest land are burned 

by wildfire, and another > 400,000 acres are prescribed 

burned annually (table 3). If that approximately 3.4 

percent of forest land that is prescribed burned annually 

were uniformly rotated each year, these figures would 

theoretically suggest a 29-year fire frequency for South 
9

Carolina (slightly shorter in coastal areas and longer in 

the Piedmont). A more reasonable estimate calculated by 

excluding bottomland hardwoods (2.5 million acres) and 

planted pine plantations (3.0 million acres; Connor and 

Sheffield 2000) indicates that the burn frequency may 

be 16 years. Van Lear and Waldrop (1991) recommend a 

3- to 5-year fire frequency after trees are large enough to 

survive prescribed burning. Looking at the occurrence of 

fire in the Southeast, Outcalt (2000) found that 86 percent 

(40,095 acres) of public and 30 percent (29,160 acres) of 

private longleaf pine stands (where longleaf is still the 

dominant tree) were burned in the last 5 years. He also 

said that regular periodic burning should soon eliminate 

the existing backlog of unburned publicly controlled sites. 

Burning on private lands is not anticipated to increase, 

given the public’s resistance to changes in understory 

condition, smaller size of private tracts, and smoke 

management and legal concerns. Almost all wildfires that 

occur today in South Carolina are caused by people, with 

< 10 percent caused by lightning in 2003 (South Carolina 

Forestry Commission 2003). 

Variability in Fire Regime and Type

Forest fire characteristics vary widely and can have 

dramatically different effects based on climate, fuel load, 

antecedent moisture conditions, and topography. These 

differences are manifest in fire intensity and severity. Fires 

are often defined by regime, burn type, and seasonality. 

Fire intensity and fire severity are defined differently based 

on duration of exposure and heat generated. Fire intensity is the actual thermal ignition energy (upward) that 

determines crown scorch (Stanturf and others 2002) and 

is often defined by flame height. Fire severity refers to the 

actual ground damage or the downward energy dispersal 

(Van Lear and Waldrop 1989, Wells and others 1979) and 

is often determined by fire residence time or speed. Higher 

A backing fire like this one from Santee State Park, Orangeburg County, SC, burns into the wind for a lower intensity, slower moving 

precribed burn. 

Photo courtesy of South Carolina Forestry Commission.
10

fuel or woody debris load will generally lead to a longer 

smoldering time, thus increasing fire severity.

Fire regimes are of three kinds, in order of increasing 

severity: understory, mixed, and stand replacement (Brown 

2000; table 4). Another way to classify burns is by fire 

type. Surface, ground, and crown fire are the common 

terms for fire types (Stanturf and others 2002; table 4). 

Typically, fire regime and type parallel one another (i.e., an 

understory fire is typically a ground fire).

One purpose of prescribed burning is hazardous fuel 

reduction to lessen the chance of higher intensity ground 

or crown fire. Other purposes include protection of critical 

plant and animal species through habitat management 

for wildlife, vegetation, and/or pests. The type of fire 

prescribed is based on climate, wind direction, fuel load 

and moisture, tract characteristics, and burn objectives. 

Common types include heading, backing, or flanking 

burns. Head fires burn upslope or with the wind and are 

relatively high in intensity but fast moving. Backing fires 

move backward into the wind or downslope and have lower 

flame intensity and speed. Flanking fires move parallel to 

the slope or perpendicular to the wind direction and often 

accompany other burning types (Stanturf and others 2002). 

Prescribed fires are generally of low intensity and low 

severity and are conducted when fuel and soil moisture 

levels are moderate or high. Prescribed fires burn along the 

forest floor and in the understory; typically 50 percent of 

available fuel is consumed (Carter and Foster 2004).

The effect of burn season on fire characteristics is more 

ambiguous. Some research indicates that growing-season 

fires are more effective than dormant season burns in 

reducing fuel loads and controlling hardwoods. However, 

there is some concern that these hotter burns result in tree 

scorch and mortality, and they are more difficult to control 

in terms of health and human safety dangers. Fire regime, 

fuel load and moisture, and frequency and seasonality of 

burn all influence the effects of fire on ecosystems.

Fire Effects in South Carolina Forests

Erosion

Following widespread agricultural abandonment, erosion 

ranged from very severe to severe in the upper Piedmont 

and was moderate or not significant on the Coastal Plain 

(South Carolina State Planning Board 1944, cited in 

White 2004). The Piedmont erosion was described as 

uphill undercut gully erosion that resulted in extensive 

sediment movement into streams and rivers (Trimble 1974; 

White 2004) and reduced productivity in upland areas 

as vast quantities of nutrients were washed offsite (Metz 

1954; Richter and others 2000). Additionally, deposition 

to coastal areas covered the once fertile South Carolina 

bottomlands with sand (Metz 1958; Trimble 1974). 

Reforestation led to stabilization of these eroded lands, 

but sustainability is the challenge for modern-day forest 

managers. 

Soil erosion is an ongoing process in forested landscapes, 

although forested lands generate only a small fraction of 

the sediment produced by more intensive land uses (Yoho 

1980). Patric (1976) estimated erosion in undisturbed 

Table 4—Common fire regimes and types and their properties a

Fire regime and type Forest type Characteristics

Fire regime

 Understory Southern pine, oak-hickory, pine-oak Less than 80 percent dominant vegetation mortality

 Mixed Hardwood, conifer Selective, 20–40 percent vegetation mortality

 Stand replacement Oak-gum-cypress, spruce-fir, etc. Greater than 80 percent dominant vegetation mortality

Fire type 

 Surface Moister, lower fuel loads Fast-moving, low-intensity, organic material often remains

 Ground Dry fuel conditions Slow-creeping, smoldering, exposes soil

 Crown Drought, low humidity, high load, ladder fuels Tree and shrub mortality, organic material consumption

a

Adapted from Stanturf and others (2001).
11

Early prescribed fire studies on the Santee Experimental Forest in the Francis Marion National Forest.

eastern forest land at between 110 and 220 pounds per 

acre per year in a review of erosion rates from forested 

plots and small watersheds in 18 different studies. These 

low natural rates of soil erosion may be accelerated by the 

interaction between local site and climatic conditions and 

common forest disturbances such as management operations or wildfire (Grace and Carter 2001; Yoho 1980). 

It is widely recognized that the majority of sediment 

erosion comes from forest roads, skid trails, log landings, 

and burned areas (Elliot 2004). Elliot and Robichaud 

(2001) maintain that erosion in forests is highly variable and driven by a few extreme events each decade. 

Geomorphology, especially slope, also plays a role in 

soil’s potential for erosion. Fire may accelerate erosion by 

reducing protective surface cover and altering soil physical 

and chemical properties (Debano 1991). Intense heating 

by fire can break down clay minerals and phyllosilicates 

that bind soil particles. A modeling study by Elliot and 

Robichaud (2001) indicated that erosion following a wildfire is greater by a factor of 100. 

Effects of fire on soil erosion in the Southeast have only 

been documented following severe burns or when fuel and 

soil are dry. Lowdermilk (1930) concludes that increased 

soil erosion and decreased water infiltration after a fire 

were caused by destruction of soil cover. Stanturf and 

others (2001) indicate that fires, such as a broadcast burn, 

expose mineral soil and accelerate soil erosion, especially 

on steep terrain. In a study of burn severity in the South 

Carolina Appalachian Mountains, Robichaud and Waldrop 

(1994) found that sediment yields were 40 times greater 

for a high severity treatment than for a lower severity treatment. Severity was classified largely as a function of fuel 

moisture conditions. In contrast, a study of high-intensity 

prescribed burning on clearcut logging debris in Southern 

Appalachia showed no significant effect on erosion, water 

infiltration capacity, or the weight of the fine root mat (Van 

Lear and Danielovich 1988).

Although increases in sediment following prescribed fire 

are described in the literature, the increases in sediment 

are extremely variable and often considered minimal or 

not significant, and are highly dependent on slope (table 

5). Yoho (1980) found that soil production ranged from 20 

to 18,000 pounds per acre per year on prescribed burned 

areas in the South. Erosion differences are based on Southern Research Station photo.
12

variability in soils, topography, stormflows, disturbance 

severity, and conservation practice. Yoho also noted that 

periodic prescribed fires seldom cause severe increases 

in sediment movement. In a study on the South Carolina 

Piedmont, Douglass and Van Lear (1983) found that single 

and repeated low-intensity, dormant-season burns did not 

significantly affect runoff or soil export. In a study in the 

Sumter National Forest, there was no evidence of erosion 

increases on established gullies following low-intensity 

growing-season burns (Cushwa and others 1971). Brender 

and Cooper (1968) found that summer and winter burns of 

high and low intensity had little to no effect on soil movement in a study in the Georgia Piedmont. 

There is not much erosion research on the Coastal Plain; 

the region is relatively flat, and this reduces concern 

about soil movement. The only study we consider here 

was conducted by Ursic (1970), who found that a single 

prescribed burn and culling of hardwoods increased 

sedimentation by an average of 400 pounds per acre 

on three watersheds in Mississippi’s upper Coastal 

Plain. These effects diminished after 3 years. This 

finding indicates that there is greater susceptibility to 

erosion following prescribed fire and that this increase 

is eliminated by regrowth of vegetation. Elliot and 

Robichaud (2001) indicate that forest erosion occurs only 

following a disturbance and drops about 90 percent every 

year thereafter.

Nutrient Loss and Soil Productivity 

Many soils of the South Carolina Piedmont are shallow 

and depleted of nutrients, especially nitrogen (N), due to 

prior cultivation, erosion, fertilizer inputs and washout, 

and crop harvests (Richter and others 2000). Accordingly, 

ensuring that current silvicultural prescriptions do not 

lower soil productivity is a forest management concern. 

Fire can alter soil nutrients availability directly, by 

altering physical and chemical properties, or indirectly, 

as increased microbial activity is stimulated by burning. 

Mechanisms of nutrient loss include volatilization by 

forest floor combustion, surface removal by erosion, and 

leaching through the soil profile. The effects of fire and 

fuels treatments on soil fertility depend largely on burn 

severity and intensity. Some research indicates that lowtemperature fires may result in fertilization or improvement in mineral soil properties (Johnson and Curtis 2001). 

Conversely, hot fires may reduce site fertility through 

oxidation of the forest floor, by creating convection 

currents that carry ash away. 

Table 5—Ranges of sediment erosion in the Southeastern United States

Location Fire Preburn Postburn Percent increase

- - - - - pounds/acre/year - - - - -

South Carolina Piedmont a Low intensity, March and September 23.7 58.9 149

Mississippi Coastal Plain b Low intensity, December 148 868, 408, and 128 c 486, 176, -14

Eastern United States d — 50–100 — —

North Carolina Piedmont e — 320 — —

South Carolina Piedmont f Low intensity, March 1.8 9.8 444

Georgia and South Carolina

 Piedmont g h Periodic burns — 22–507 —

— = Data not given.

a

Douglass and Van Lear (1983).

b

Ursic (1970).

c

Watershed III first, second, and third year following burn.

d

Patric (1976).

e

Copeley and others (1946).

f

White (2003).

g

Brender and Cooper (1968), Cushwa and others (1971).

h

Adapted from Yoho (1980).
13

Fire effects study conducted in 2001 on the Enoree Ranger District, Sumter National Forest.

The impact of prescribed fire on the dynamics within 

the N cycle has been studied in great depth. Nitrogen is 

particularly important because it limits productivity in 

many southeastern forests. Although the majority of N in 

a stored system is organic, the N taken up by roots (used 

for growth) is mostly inorganic (NH4

+

 and NO3

-

). Fire 

alters the distribution of soil N through volatilization and 

leaching, and by conversion into different N compounds. 

Common N transformations include mineralization, the 

conversion from organic forms to NH4

+

, and nitrification, the conversion of NH4

+

 to NO3

-

. The depletion of 

phosphorus (P), which is commonly lost to volatilization 

or particulate ash, is also of particular interest for South 

Carolina forests, as many southern pine forests are P 

deficient (Jokela and others 1991). Therefore, P is widely 

recognized as a limiting nutrient for southern coastal soils. 

Research results are varied and often conflicting, but the 

majority of reports indicate that prescribed fire has minor, 

if not insignificant, effects on soil fertility and productivity in southern pine forests (McKee 1982; Metz and 

others 1961; Stone 1971; Tuininga and others 2002; Wells 

1971). Nevertheless, in a recent review of productivity 

response to prescribed fire in southern pine forests, Carter 

and Foster (2004) conclude that the long-term impact of 

nutrient loss and changes in soil productivity has received 

too little attention, and that the losses of nutrients appear 

to “exceed considerably the rate of replacement by natural 

processes.” They argue that although initial nutrient 

increases may result in short-term increases in productivity, fire may lower the overall productivity or timber 

yield in the long run unless these losses are mitigated by 

fertilization or competition control. The effect of nutrient 

availability is also complicated beyond the assessment 

of pool size, since interactions among vegetation (e.g., 

litter quality), microbial processes, and soil chemical and 

physical properties may also be expected to exist. Carter 

and Foster (2004) also caution that many of the studies of 

prescribed fire on southern forested soils are characterized by experimental design flaws (pseudoreplication) and 

a short monitoring phase. Discussions of alterations to 

the forest floor and mineral soil are presented separately 

below.

Photo courtesy of Sumter National Forest.
14

Forest Floor

Surface fires in southern pine stands typically result in 

consumption of 25 to 50 percent of the organic matter 

present in the forest floor, although this varies with 

frequency of burn (Brender and Cooper 1968; Lewis 

1974; Wells 1971; table 6). Most research shows a 

nutrient reduction in the forest floor following burning 

(Binkley and others 1992; McKee 1991). The magnitude 

of nutrient loss is positively and linearly correlated with 

fuel consumption (Hough 1981, Raison and others 1985a, 

Schoch and Binkley 1986 in Carter and Foster 2004). 

Raison and others (1985b) estimated understory and litter 

losses of 55 to 75 percent N, 37 to 50 percent P, 43 to 66 

percent potassium (K), 30 to 34 percent calcium (Ca), 

and 25 to 50 percent magnesium (Mg). Raison and others 

(1985b) also found that the gaseous form of P, representing 

30 to 90 percent of the total volatilized P, could be lost 

from the ecosystem. The portion of particulate P returned 

to the forest floor is redistributed (Cook 1994 in Carter and 

Foster 2004). 

 Although reductions in forest floor nutrients are well 

documented, these have seldom been associated with a 

significant reduction in the soil nutrient capital. Some 

research indicates that natural rates of wet and dry nutrient 

deposition inputs may replenish any losses that result from 

burning. Jorgensen and Wells (1986) estimated that annual 

precipitation supplies 5.3 pounds N, 0.4 pounds P, 1.5 

pounds K, 1.5 pounds Mg, and 6.4 pounds Ca per acre in 

Table 6—Forest floor fuel consumption and nutrient loss following prescribed fire for selected sites in the 

Southeastern United States a

Location and species Treatment Fuel consumed Nutrient loss

tons/acre pounds/acre

South Carolina Piedmont b

 Mature loblolly pine 1 annual burn 3.6 N = 43.8

2 annual burns 2.7 N = 32.1

3 annual burns 0.6 N = 5.3

Coastal Plain South Carolina c

 Mature loblolly pine 20 years of periodic — N = 23.0

 winter burn

Piedmont North Carolina d

 Mature loblolly pine Low-intensity, growing- 0.9 N = 11.8

 season burn

Coastal Florida and Georgia e

 Slash and longleaf pine No burn for 1 year

 

 3.3 N = 38.4, P = 2.2, K = 8.0,

 Ca = 22.6, S = 3.4

 No burn for 1–2 years 2.9 N = 34.8, P = 1.4, K = 8.0,

 Ca = 11.5, S = 3.0

No burn for 5 years 8.3 N = 100.0, P = 4.1, K = 31.2,

 Ca = 20.5, S = 9.6

No burn for 8 years 11.3 N = 173.2, P = 7.5, K = 21.9,

 Ca = 44.2, S = 15.5

— = Not given.

a

Adapted from Carter and Foster (2004).

b

Van Lear and others (1990).

c

Wells (1971).

d

Schoch and Binkley (1986). e

Hough (1981).
15

loblolly pine ecosystems. Carter and Foster (2004) believe 

that this may be an acceptable account of both wet and 

dry deposition for this system. Other research proposes 

that forest floor losses are replaced by increased fixation induced by burning and incorporation of N into the 

mineral soil (Van Lear and Waldrop 1989; Van Lear and 

others 1990; Waldrop and others 1987; Wells 1971). 

Mineral Soil

Nitrogen—Consistently, there have been reports of a 

fertilization effect in the mineral soil following prescribed 

fire, attributable to an increase in inorganic N. Schoch and 

Binkley (1986) conclude that increased decomposition 

following prescribed fire results in an additional 67 pounds 

N per acre in the soil one growing season after burning. 

Other studies report increased N-mineralization rates 

immediately following the fire (Knoepp and Swank 1993; 

Schoch and Binkley 1986; Tuininga and others 2002; 

Wells 1971). This positive effect is seen consistently in the 

87 studies used in a recent meta-analysis of fire impacts 

(Wan and Luo 2001). Wells (1971) credits increased 

atmospheric deposition and microbial N-fixation for the N 

gains evidenced in the surface mineral soil. Knoepp and 

Swank (1993) report that increases in net mineralization of 

N after fire were positively correlated with burn severity in 

a Southern Appalachian pine-hardwood stand. They also 

found that these NH4

+

 increases were sustained 12 months 

following burning (indicating that they were not quickly 

leached or taken up by plants). Other research indicates 

that such increases are often variable in magnitude and of 

short duration (Carter and Foster 2004). Generalizations 

about N should be made with caution, as N transformations occur quickly under certain environmental conditions. Timing is crucial for determining NH4

+

 and NO3

-

concentrations in the soil following burning. 

Prescribed fires, like this one at Santee State Park, Orangeburg County, SC, are typically low intensity and minimize smoke along 

roadways and urban areas.

Photo courtesy of South Carolina Forestry Commission.
16

Long-term research on soil fertility in the South may provide 

broader insight into sustainable productivity, but those studies 

are lacking. In one study of 30-year cumulative treatment 

effects on the South Carolina Coastal Plain, Binkley 

and others (1992) showed that the C:N ratio increased 

progressively with the increasing frequency of prescribed 

fire for the forest floor, although no changes were observed 

in the mineral soil. The implication is that decomposition 

and net N-mineralization may be constrained in stands 

with short return intervals at the forest floor level, but 

remain unchanged for the mineral soil. 

A 40-year study in the Santee Experimental Forest in 

the Coastal Plain of South Carolina shows negligible 

loss of soil nutrient capital with burning (McKee 1982, 

Wells 1971). The 40-year report on the Santee study also 

supports the notion that neither periodicity nor seasonality 

affected long-term soil nutrient pools adversely (Waldrop 

and others 1987). However, when temporal changes within 

treatments were compared longitudinally, the annual burn 

treatments resulted in a loss of total N from the surface 

mineral soil (upper 10 cm) of 323 pounds per acre for 

summer burning and 114 pounds per acre for winter 

burning (McKee 1982). 

Other nutrients—A study in young Piedmont loblolly 

plantations showed that significant amounts of P were lost 

from the forest floor during burning, although researchers 

noted that these losses were small relative to quantities 

of P present in the residual forest floor (Kodama and 

Van Lear 1980). Some research has reported increases in 

extractable P on different sites subjected to fires of various 

types (Lewis 1974; McKee 1982; McKee and Lewis 

1983; Moehring and others 1966). In a seedling pot study, 

McKevlin and McKee (1986) found increased extractable 

P on Coastal Plain soils after 33 years of annual winter 

prescribed fire. McKee (1982) found that available phosphorus and exchangeable calcium were higher on periodically burned plots than on unburned plots. However, < 13 

percent of the 7 pounds per acre loss of P from the forest 

floor could be accounted for in the surface mineral soil 

(McKee 1982). Other cations exhibited gains in the surface 

mineral soil following the long-term burning treatments on 

the fire plots, and these gains appear to balance the losses 

from the forest floor (McKee 1982). 

Vegetation

Chronicled evidence and other literature commonly 

support the concept that fire was an essential ecological 

factor in the establishment and maintenance of historical 

plant communities in the South (Cooper 1961; Waldrop 

and others 1987, 1992). The altered plant communities 

present today in the South are a product of disturbance 

conditions including intensive forestry and other 

anthropogenic impacts (Jones and Lloyd 1993). The 

desired outcome of prescribed fire is the re-creation of 

historical forest structure and composition, accomplished 

by reducing stand density and supporting a more 

herbaceous understory with fire. An understanding of 

how season and intensity of burn affect plant productivity, 

composition, and regeneration will provide best burn 

regime recommendations to create the desired vegetative 

conditions. This will also help management identify the 

most suitable measures for mitigating anthropogenic 

influences on forest ecosystems.

Productivity 

Ecosystem productivity is generally correlated with available soil nutrients. Several studies have suggested that 

prescribed burning could promote pine productivity in 

pine-dominated ecosystems (Peterson and others 1994; 

Schoch and Binkley 1986), although there is no definitive evidence of this (Carter and Foster 2004). There has 

generally been little or no effect on pine growth rates 

(Waldrop and others 1987) or dynamics (Streng and others 

1993) for southern ecosystems. Christensen (1977) found 

that productivity was stimulated following burning, but 

diminished after one growing season. A study by Haywood 

(2002) in central Louisiana found that total pine height for 

5- to 6-year-old longleaf pines was significantly greater for 

the control treatment than for other delayed burning treatments, indicating that delayed burning may decrease site 

productivity. 

Although the need for prescribed fire is generally 

recognized, there is some disagreement as to which 

fire regime is most appropriate for sustainable forest 

productivity. Findings on effects of fire frequency, 

intensity, and seasonality on productivity of vegetation 

vary (table 7). In a study of the South Carolina Coastal 

Plain, Gilliam and Christensen (1986) showed that 

productivity is dependent on burn season, with winter 

fires enhancing production and no effect from summer 

fires directly following burn. Recently, the benefits of 

growing-season burning to restore desired conditions of 

vegetation and achieve more effective hardwood exclusion 

have been weighed against the effects of such burning on 

long-term vegetative productivity. Although management 

and public sentiment is often strong and resolute, there is 

little scientific evidence on the topic (Streng and others 
17

1993). Streng and others (1993) also assert that many burn 

seasonality studies are inadequate because of problems 

related to short monitoring periods, statistical analysis 

methods, use of pseudoreplication, and the influence of 

confounding variables. 

Composition

Fire exclusion alters community composition and 

structure by increasing understory woody species while 

decreasing grasses and forbs (Lewis and Harshbarger 

1976). Numerous studies have shown that fire is effective in controlling competing vegetation. Results from 

two long-term dormant season fire studies on the Coastal 

Plain of South Carolina and Florida indicate that burning 

as frequently as fuels permit is optimal for maintaining 

the largest number of native ground-layer plant species 

(Glitzenstein and others 2003). Van Lear and others (2004) 

recommend prescribed burning on a 3- to 5-year cycle to 

open forest stands and reduce the incidence of southern 

pine beetle.

Research suggests that fire frequency and seasonality 

affect plant richness and composition, and that increased 

fire frequency and a summer burning regime are more 

effective in controlling hardwoods. A 43-year study on 

intentionally burned plots in the Santee Experimental 

Forests showed that variation in season and frequency 

of burning produced significantly different responses in 

understory growth (Waldrop and others 1992). Hardwood 

sprouts increased following periodic summer, periodic 

winter, and annual winter regimes. Only annual summer 

burning resulted in long-term hardwood mortality and 

grassland community replacement (White and others 

1990). Overstory vegetation was not affected. Winter 

burning and regular periodic burning, regardless of 

seasonality, has been found to cause short-term hardwood 

die-back, with hardwood vegetation resprouting within 1 

to 2 years (Waldrop and others 1987). 

Some research supports the contention that frequent 

growing-season burns are needed to achieve the open 

pine savannah that is often desired by forest managers 

and landowners (Waldrop and Lloyd 1991). In Georgia’s 

Fire can travel up higher level vegetation, creating higher intensity crown fires through what are called “ladder fuels.” It is important 

to keep ladder fuels to a minimum to control burns and eliminate risk of wildfire. This image was from a lightning-caused fire in Aiken, 

SC, that threatened the town in 2004.

Photo courtesy of South Carolina Forestry Commission.
18

Piedmont, periodic summer fires were more effective 

than periodic winter fires in killing understory hardwoods 

(Brender and Cooper 1968). Streng and others (1993) 

found that growing-season fires result in high topkill rates 

and complete kill for midstory oaks. They also found that 

growing-season fires promote flowering that can be extrapolated to seed production of dominant grasses and forbs. 

However, some researchers found that growing season 

burning had little effect on pine dynamics and no effect on 

species abundance in the groundcover. Effects of burning 

season on groundcover species may become apparent only 

after long periods of repeated burning. Langdon (1981) 

indicated that the mechanism for long-term hardwood and 

woody shrub control is root mortality, which is most easily 

achieved through regular growing-season burning.

Table 7—Fire effects on species composition, regeneration, and productivity as reported in selected literature

Study Location Term Burn Composition Regeneration Productivity

Waldrop and 

others (1992)

South Carolina 

Coastal Plain

Since 1946 Factorial annual 

and periodic 

summer and 

winter burns

Summer burns­— 

decreased hardwood 

stems, increased herbs 

and grasses; other 

treatments—increased 

hardwood stems and 

shrub density

Stems > 4 inches 

—no damage; stems 

2–4 inches—reduced 

with all treatments

Unknown

Glitzenstein 

and others 

(2003)

South Carolina 

Coastal Plain

Since 1958 Annual to 

quadrennial 

fire frequency; 

dormant season

Reduced woody 

cover and biomass; 

increased herb species 

with increased fire 

frequency

Unknown Unknown

Outcalt and 

Foltz (2004)

Florida Coastal 

Plain

Preburn and 

postburn

Growing 

season; head 

firing

Unknown No effect on mortality Unknown

Boyer (1990) Southwestern 

Alabama

Preburn and 

postburn

Two consecutive 

spring and 

summer burns

Unknown 50 percent stem 

mortality for upland 

hardwoods after 

second burn; greater 

damage to pines 

than hardwoods after 

summer burn

Unknown

Boyer (1987) Southwestern 

Alabama

10 years 

monitoring

Biennial spring, 

summer, and 

winter burns

Unknown Unknown Pine volume 

growth 23 

percent greater 

for unburned; 33 

percent greater 

after 7th year

Cain (1993) Southern 

Arkansas

10 years 

monitoring

Winter burns Unknown 22 percent more 

pine; fewer hardwood 

seedlings for burned 

than for control

Unknown

Cushwa and 

others (1970)

South Carolina 

Piedmont

Preburn and 

postburn

Spring and 

summer burns

Unknown Seed production 

greater for summer 

burn than spring burn 

or control

No effect on 

legumes
19

Regeneration

Van Lear and Waldrop (1989) state that herbaceous vegetation thrives on fire-prepared seedbeds, which indicates that 

regeneration may benefit from prescribed fire. Christensen 

(1981) states that burning encourages flowering and seed 

This fire at Carvers Bay in Georgetown County was set after smoldering from a prescribed burn reignited a fire 

in the peat.

Photo courtesy of South Carolina Forestry Commission.

production by native grasses and forbs. The use of multiple 

low-intensity fires was shown to maintain adequate regeneration of Table Mountain pine from seed in a study in 

a Southern Appalachian ecosystem (Waldrop and others 

1999). Waldrop and others (2002) also found that multiple 

low-intensity fires may provide the best conditions for 
20

pine regeneration. Results from that study suggested 

that high-intensity fires may hinder the growth of new 

germinants by reducing mycorrhizal abundance and soil 

moisture. In a greenhouse study, McKevlin and McKee 

(1986) found that seedling development benefited from 

prescribed fire, as height, biomass, and N and P uptake in 

the greenhouse seedlings was greater on burned soils than 

on the unburned control. Other studies have suggested that 

viable pine seeds will become available every 2 to 3 years 

as long as fires do not kill overstory pines, and this makes 

regular burning possible (Gray and others 2002). Legumes 

were more abundant in young Georgia Piedmont loblolly 

plantations where logging slash was burned (Cushwa and 

others 1966). 

The main regeneration concern is that fire may scorch 

crowns and retard the growth of pine seedlings. Wade 

and Johansen (1986) found that diameter growth is not 

diminished if root damage and crown scorch are minimal. 

Additionally, most evidence indicates that the thicker bark 

on pine species makes them much less susceptible to fire 

damage than hardwoods. Outcalt and Wade (2004) examined mortality rates following a wildfire in Florida. They 

found that mortality rates were lower on sites that were 

prescribed burned before the wildfire. This finding indicates that a regular prescribed burning regime will reduce 

the threat to human and ecosystem health in the event of a 

severe fire.

Conclusions

Fire is a natural part of many southern ecosystems, has 

long been used as a tool by humans, and continues to 

benefit forest vegetation and fuels in ways that reduce fire 

risk and ecosystem damage. Selection of the appropriate 

fire regime, frequency, and type is an important consideration in the management of South Carolina forests. 

Management must align fire regime selection with their 

objectives to determine the suitable balance between forest 

resource protection and reduction of hazardous fuels. A 

low-intensity dormant-season burn is the safest route to 

reducing fuel loads, but a growing-season burn may be 

more effective in controlling hardwoods and slowing fuel 

accumulation. 

Researchers have usually found that there is no significant sediment loss following prescribed burning, and 

such loss is unlikely in the Southeastern United States in 

the absence of any severe climatic event. The effects of 

prescribed fire on productivity are generally varied and 

inconsistent (Carter and Foster 2004). Negative effects 

of canopy scorch on growth are easy to detect and understand, but effects of changes in competition, fertility, and 

soil physical properties are more elusive. In terms of soil 

nutrients and productivity of vegetation, the majority of 

research indicates that the fertilization effect is negligible 

or short term. 

Examination of the literature about effects of fire in the 

Southeastern United States reflects that significant knowledge gaps exist in fire research, particularly with respect to 

long-term sustainability. Although short-term research on 

the topic is available and tends to indicate that significant 

effects do not occur, the experimental methods and short 

timeframes sometimes cause concern. There is uncertainty 

about the long-term effects of prescribed fire on ecosystem 

functions. The sense that prescribed burns provide an 

overall benefit to the environment and reduce hazards to 

human health and safety is generally supported by research 

and accepted by natural resource managers. However, 

the research and practical field experience suggest that 

management should undertake prescribed burning with 

caution and awareness of the potential for disturbance 

effects. This science-based knowledge will equip management with the tools to ensure sustainable forest resource 

management and protection. 

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the staffs of the U.S. Department 

of Agriculture Forest Service’s Francis Marion and 

Sumter National Forests for their assistance, cooperation, 

and collaboration, particularly Dennis Law and William 

Hansen for the facilitation of this work. Additional gratitude is owed to Timothy Callahan and the College of 

Charleston’s Department of Geology and Environmental 

Geosciences for providing administrative and technical 

guidance. Funding from the Forest Service, Francis 

Marion and Sumter National Forests, was provided 

through the College of Charleston under interagency 

Forest Service Agreement 03-PA-11081209-070. We 

would like to recognize and thank Thomas Waldrop and 

Kenneth Outcalt for providing review and comment.
21

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25

Appendix A

Plant Species List

Common name Scientific name

Longleaf pine Pinus palustris

Loblolly pine P. taeda

Shortleaf pine P. echinata

Slash pine P. elliottii 

Pond pine P. serotina 

Table Mountain pine P. pungens

Virginia pine P. virginiana

Hickory Carya spp.

Scarlet oak Quercus coccinea

Southern red oak Q. falcata

White oak Q. alba

Sweetgum Liquidambar tyraciflua

Red maple Acer rubrum

Bluegrass Poa compressa

Wiregrass Aristida stricta

27

Appendix B

ConversionFactors

Mg/ha-1 (megagrams [metric tons] per hectare) = 893 pounds per acre

Kg/ha-1 (kilograms per hectare) = 0.893 pounds per acre

Fairchilds, Lindsay H.; Trettin, Carl C. 2006. History and legacy of fire effects in the 

South Carolina piedmont and coastal regions. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–98 Asheville, NC: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 27 p.

Agriculture, fire suppression, and urbanization have drastically altered natural forest 

processes and conditions since humankind settled in the Southeastern United States. 

Today, many of South Carolina’s forests are dense and overstocked, with high fuel loads. 

These conditions increase the susceptibility of forests to southern pine beetle attack and 

wildfire. These threats are further complicated by rapid urbanization and forest fragmentation, processes that are increasing South Carolina’s wildland-urban interface at a rapid 

rate. Prescribed fire is an effective, economical, and widely used tool for reducing fuel 

loads and encouraging desired vegetative communities in forest landscapes. However, 

research into the effects of prescribed fire often generates more questions than answers. 

This paper considers fire effects on soil erosion, nutrients, and vegetation from a historical 

perspective. We examined historical fire regimes, land use changes, and fire research. The 

majority of literature indicates that soil erosion does not occur unless a severe climatic event 

follows prescribed fire. There is also evidence of a fertilization effect in the soil following 

prescribed fire, although this is typically of short duration and accompanied by some 

nutrient loss in the forest floor. Effects of prescribed fire on the productivity, composition, 

and regeneration of vegetation are more complex and ambiguous. Effects are primarily 

determined by antecedent local conditions and fire severity and intensity. Knowledge of past 

land use and fire’s biological and historical roles in land use change can support effective 

decision making. This knowledge will provide guidance for sustainable management of 

forest resources and reduction of hazardous forest fuel conditions. 

Keywords: Fire, fire effects, fire history, prescribed burn, wildland-urban interface.
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