FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Gordonia lasianthus | Loblolly-Bay 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Fire typically top-kills loblolly bay.  Five major fires in 1954 and
1955 occurred in the Okefenokee Swamp during an extreme drought.  In
some areas the fires were severe enough to burn into the peat,
completely killing all loblolly-bay trees.  Where only surface fires
occurred, the larger top-killed trees sprouted from the root crown
[4,5].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Loblolly-bay sprouts from the root crown following fire [5,12].  Data
pertaining to postfire density, frequency, or growth rates of
loblolly-bay following fire were not found in the literature.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Within swamp bay forests, three fires occurring within 60 or 70 years or
a single, deep peat burn with a high postburn water table may produce
open marsh areas or "prairies".  These open areas provide important
habitat for a number of wildlife species, including the sandhill crane,
bitterns, rails, gallinules, the round-tailed muskrat, and waterfowl
[5].

Related categories for Species: Gordonia lasianthus | Loblolly-Bay