Fire in North American Wetland Ecosystems and Fire-Wildlife Relations: An Annotated Bibliography

73. Faulkner, S. P., and A. A. de la Cruz. 1982. Nutrient mobilization following 
         winter fires in an irregularly flooded marsh. J. Environ. Qual. 11:129-133.

The effect of prescribed winter burning on nutrient pools in an irregularly flooded marsh in St. Louis Bay, MS, were evaluated by assessment of prefire and postfire growth, prefire and postfire sediments, combustion residues, and reference material from unburned controls. Transitory elevation of sediment-water pH, P, K, Ca, and Mg occurred in the soil, but input to the marsh soils was minimal. Estimated losses of N and K from combustible plant matter exceeded 90% and 50%, respectively, in needle rush and giant cordgrass communities. Losses of these elements in standing elemental pools amounted to 70% for N and 40% for K in both communities. Elemental standing stock and absolute elemental concentration increased in spring regrowth, particularly with respect to N, and appeared associated with burning. Slight increase in sediment nutrients, increased sediment warming, and increased insolation may have contributed to this increase, but a slight lag in physiological ages of plants in burned sites may account for observed differences. [From authors" abstract]

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