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

87. Glasser, J. E. 1985. Successional trends on tree islands in the Okefenokee 
         Swamp as determined by interspecific association analysis. Am. Midl. 
         Nat. 113:287-293.

Marshes ("prairies") of either aquatic or emergent hydrophytes are the earliest seral stage and occur in areas of severe or frequent burns in Okefenokee Swamp. Marsh formation requires that existing woody vegetation be killed by single fires that burn deeply enough to kill roots or by recurring fires that exhaust the regenerative capabilities of surviving roots, and that the peat surface be burned away to permit an increase in water depth. Succession of marshes to forested wetlands is accelerated by the formation of floating and attached peat islands that provide a substrate for tree and shrub invasion. Species diversity increases with island age and time since last disturbance. Fire history, seed dispersal, and island age appeared to be the major factors determining the species present on islands. [K-L-S]

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