Beginning in the late 1930s, fire exclusion has drastically altered the vegetation
dynamics of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Extremely low fire frequency has
allowed for more shade-tolerant species to invade once predominantly open forests and
has made it almost impossible for fire-dependent species to establish on a site. One such
species is the endangered Peters Mountain mallow (Iliamna corei Sherff.) located on
Peters Mountain in The Nature Conservancy s Narrows Preserve in Giles County,
Virginia. This paper focuses on the fire history and stand dynamics of Peters Mountain
and how fire exclusion has altered the forest composition. The historic fire frequency
and successional changes discovered here may provide an insight into management
strategies for the mallow.
Seventy-nine fire scarred cross-sections were taken and aged to determine fire
history dates and frequencies. Three 50x20 meter plots were set up on opposing aspects:
northwest and southeast. The aspects were chosen at the direction of The Nature
Conservancy personnel. All trees within were identified, cored and aged to determine
species composition and the establishment dates of all trees. Fire history analysis revealed a mean fire interval of 2.48 years, a Weibull median fire interval of 2.18 years
and a 25 percent scarred class mean fire interval of 12.5 years. Stand dynamic results
show that Quercus montana has established on Peters Mountain prior to fire exclusion
and remains the dominate species on the landscape. An increased number of fire
intolerant species (including Acer rubrum, Sassfras albidum, Nyssa sylvatica) have been
establishing on Peters Mountain during the decades of decreased fire frequency,
suggesting a shift in forest composition. Frequent fires are suggested for mallow
management and oak forest maintenance.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-1315 |
| Date | 15 May 2009 |
| Creators | Hoss, Jennifer Ann |
| Contributors | Lafon, Charles W. |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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