Shrub and Herbaceous Vegetation after 20 Years of Prescribed Burning in the South Carolina Coastal Plain

Abstract

Twenty years of prescribed burning at different seasons and different frequencies altered the condition of shrub and herbaceous vegetation in the Lower Coastal Plain of South Carolina. The six treatments consisted of annual winter, annual summer, periodic winter, periodic summer, and biennial summer burning, and a no-burn control. Percentage of ground cover increased with most burning treatments, and herbage yields increased with all burning treatments. Annual summer burning eliminated most shrubs; however, dense stands of sprouting shrubs persisted on the periodic summer and on both the annual and periodic winter treatments. The number of herbaceous species and the density of herbaceous plants increased with burning, especially on the annual and biennial summer treatments where grasses became the dominant plants. Most of these changes appear beneficial for wildlife or grazing.