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

95. Hackney, C. T., and A. A. de la Cruz. 1978. The effects of fire on the 
         productivity and species composition of two St. Louis Bay, Mississippi 
         tidal marshes dominated by Juncus roemerianus and Spartina 
         cynosuroides, respectively. J. Miss. Acad. Sci. 23 (suppl.):109.

Recovery following burn was rapid in the big cordgrass stand with a maximum standing crop of 1,858 g/m² by the end of the first growing season. The maximum standing crop decreased in the second season to 1,304 g/m² which was similar to controls; dead material in the burn increased to near control levels at the end of the first season. Recovery in the needle rush community was slower. Maximum standing crop at the end of the first season was 864 g/m in the burn versus 1,280 g/m² in the controls. The standing crop remained lower in the second season, and the accumulation of dead material was still 331 g/m² lower after two growing seasons. Seven additional marsh plant species were found in both communities. Their abundance did not change following fire. [From authors' abstract]

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