Abstract
Fire has been a significant part of southeastern American forests for thousands of years. Prescribed fire is an effective method to achieve some land management goals, but sometimes it is not possible to use this tool. Fortunately, there are alternative treatment options that land managers can consider. Although none of these surrogate treatments will produce the same suite of benefits as prescribed fire, they can mimic some of the benefits that prescribed fire creates and are better than applying no treatments. This publication provides an overview for landowners and land managers that want to understand surrogate treatments and the economic and ecological tradeoffs associated with each treatment.
References
Boughton, E. H., P. J. Bohlen, and J. H. Maki. 2017. “Effects of Experimental Season of Prescribed Fire and Nutrient Addition on Structure and Function of Previously Grazed Grassland.” Journal of Plant Ecology 11 (4): 576–584. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtx022
Brockway, D. G., K. W. Outcalt, and R. N. Wilkins. 1998. “Restoring Longleaf Pine Wiregrass Ecosystems: Plant Cover, Diversity and Biomass following Low-Rate Hexazinone Application on Florida Sandhills.” Forest Ecology and Management 103 (2-3): 159–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(97)00186-2
Brockway, D. G., and K. W. Outcalt. 2000. “Restoring Longleaf Pine Wiregrass Ecosystems: Hexazinone Application Enhances Effects of Prescribed Fire.” Forest Ecology and Management 137 (1): 121–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(99)00321-7
Brown, S. K., and W. E. Palmer. 2022. “Effect of Prescribed Fire and Mechanical Treatments on Northern Bobwhite Occupancy in Mesic Pine Flatwoods.” National Quail Symposium Proceedings: Vol. 9, Article 61. https://doi.org/10.7290/nqsp09vNFj
Bultemeier, B., J. Ferrell, and G. MacDonald. 2021. “Florida’s Organo-auxin Herbicide Rule – 2021” SS-AGR-12/WG051, Rev. 12/2021”. EDIS 2021 (6) https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-wg051-2021
Fitzgerald, S. M., and G. W. Tanner. 1992. “Avian Community Response to Fire and Mechanical Shrub Control in South Florida.” Journal of Range Management 45 (4): 396–400. https://doi.org/10.2307/4003090
Freeman, J. E., and S. Jose. 2009. “The Role of Herbicide in Savanna Restoration: Effects of Shrub Reduction Treatments on the Understory and Overstory of a Longleaf Pine Flatwoods.” Forest Ecology and management 257 (3): 978–986. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2008.10.041
Greenberg, C. H., D. G. Neary, L. D. Harris, and S. P. Linda. 1995. “Vegetation Recovery following High-Intensity Wildfire and Silvicultural Treatments in Sand Pine Scrub.” American Midland Naturalist 133 (1): 149–163. https://doi.org/10.2307/2426356
Menges, E. S., and D. R. Gordon. 2010. “Should mechanical treatments and herbicides be used as fire surrogates to manage Florida's uplands? A review.” Florida Scientist 73 (2): 147.
Moore, W. H. 1974. “Some Effects of Chopping Saw-Palmetto-Pineland Threeawn Range in South Florida.” Journal of Range Management 27 (2): 101–104. https://doi.org/10.2307/3896740
Outcalt, K. W., and D. G. Brockway. 2010. “Structure and Composition Changes following Restoration Treatments of Longleaf Pine Forests on the Gulf Coastal Plain of Alabama.” Forest Ecology and Management 259 (8): 1615–1623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2010.01.039
Provencher, L., B. J. Herring, D. R. Gordon, H. L. Rodgers, K. E. Galley, G. W. Tanner, J. L. Hardesty, and L. A. Brennan. 2001. “Effects of Hardwood Reduction Techniques on Longleaf Pine Sandhill Vegetation in Northwest Florida.” Restoration Ecology 9 (1): 13–27. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1526-100x.2001.009001013.x
Porensky, L. M., B. L. Perryman, M. A. Williamson, M. D. Madsen, and E. A. Leger. 2018. “Combining Active Restoration and Targeted Grazing to Establish Native Plants and Reduce Fuel Loads in Invaded Ecosystems.” Ecology and Evolution 8 (24): 12533–12546. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4642
Schwilk, D. W., J. E. Keeley, E. E. Knapp, J. McIver, J. D. Bailey, C. J. Fettig, C. E. Fiedler, et al. 2009. “The National Fire and Fire Surrogate Study: Effects of Fuel Reduction Methods on Forest Vegetation Structure and Fuels.” Ecological Applications 19 (2): 285–304. https://doi.org/10.1890/07-1747.1
Sonnier, G., P. F. Quintana‐Ascencio, P. J. Bohlen, J. E. Fauth, D. G. Jenkins, and E. H. Boughton. 2020. “Pasture Management, Grazing, and Fire Interact to Determine Wetland Provisioning in a Subtropical Agroecosystem.” Ecosphere 11 (8): 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3209
Sorensen, D. 1997. “Advantages and Effectiveness of Roller Chopping.” Proceedings: Ecology and Management of Pinyon-Juniper Communities Within the Interior West. USDA Forest Service, 15–18.
Tanner, G. W., J. M. Wood, R. S. Kalmbacher, and F. G. Martin. 1988. “Mechanical Shrub Control on Flatwoods Range in South Florida.” Journal of Range Management 41 (3): 245-248. https://doi.org/10.2307/3899177
Wade, D. D., J. D. Lunsford, M. J. Dixon, and H. E. Mobley. 1989. “A Guide for Prescribed Fire in Southern Forests.” Technical publication R8-TP-US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Region (USA).
Watts, A., G. Tanner, and R. Dye. 2006. “Restoration of Dry Prairie Using Fire and Roller Chopping.” Land of Fire and Water: The Florida Dry Prairie Ecosystem 225–229.
Weekley, C. W., E. S. Menges, D. Berry-Greenlee, M. A. Rickey, G. L. Clarke, and S. A. Smith. 2011. “Burning More Effective Than Mowing in Restoring Florida Scrub.” Ecological Restoration 29 (4): 357–373. https://doi.org/10.3368/er.29.4.357
Weekley, C. W., E. S. Menges, A. L. Craddock, and R. Yahr. 2013. “Logging as a Pretreatment or Surrogate for Fire in Restoring Florida Scrub.” Castanea 78 (1): 15–27. https://doi.org/10.2179/12-030

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2024 UF/IFAS