FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Sabal palmetto | Cabbage Palmetto 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Cabbage palmettos probably sustain only superficial damage from most
fires.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
When growing on organic soil or soil with a deep organic layer, very
severe fires may consume the soil itself, killing cabbage palmettos by
root damage and lack of mechanical support [19].


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Most fires probably favor cabbage palmetto growth by removing
competition.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
Frequent fires allow cabbage palmetto to form pure stands and invade
mixed stands [19].  Twenty-one years of fires in Everglades National
Park resulted in a net increase in cabbage palmetto stems [17].  Egler
wrote that the increase in fire severity and decrease in fire frequency
following European settlement allowed cabbage palmettos to dominate high
hammock communities in southern Florida [6].


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Species: Sabal palmetto | Cabbage Palmetto