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- Info
High intensity prescribed fire to maintain spartina marsh at the urban-wildland interface
| Author: |
Wade, Dale D. |
| Date: |
1989 |
| Periodical: |
In: High Intensity Fire in Wildlands: Management Challenges and Options: Proceedings of the 17th Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference; 1989 May 18-21;Tallahassee, Fl. Tallahassee, Fl: Tall Timbers Research Station |
| Abstract: |
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) is using high intensity fire to perpetuate fresh-water marsh on Sanibel Island. Shrubs are invading the marsh because of the decreased hydroperiod. A policy of fire exclusion was followed until 1971 when a destructive wildfire occurred during an extreme drought. This event demonstrated the potential of fire for vegetation management, turning SCCF policy from fire exclusion to prescribed burning. Subsequent construction of the SCCF headquarters-museum complex at the edge of the marsh and the decision not to use constructed firebreaks put the future of the prescribed fire program in jeopardy. These constraints were overcome and the marsh was again successfully burned with a high intensity prescribed fire. The area now serves as an operational-scale demonstration area where museum visitors can see firsthand how the intentional use of fire can accomplish resource management objectives while mimicking natural perturbations in an environmentally acceptable manner. |
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