Erosion Response of Loblolly Pine Stands Subjected to Prescribed Burning in Piedmont Region of South Carolina.

Prescribed burning is a common practice in forest management for the purpose of reducing fuel loads, regenerating native plants, and improving wildlife habitat. The impact of prescribed burning on erosion response of soils in the southeastern U.S. has been reported but results have been mixed.  A study was initiated in 2003 to investigate the erosion response of loblolly pine stands with varying fuel loads to prescribed burning.  The study site was located in the Long Cane Ranger District, Sumter National Forest, South Carolina.  The landscape of the study site is moderately steep to steep, highly dissected, and covered by an extensive network of gullies.  Soils within the study area were primarily classified as Ultisols with the most common soil association to be Cecil-Lloyd-Madison.  Three treatments and a control were established as a randomized complete block design (RBD) with treatments consisting of 1) prescribed burn with low fuel load; 2) prescribed burn with high fuel load; 3) prescribed burn after mechanical chipping treatment; and 4) control - no prescribed burn.  Steel framed plots measuring approximately 5 x 10 meters connected to tipping bucket collections systems were placed in three locations in each treatment area.  Each treatment area was monitored prior to and after application of prescribed burning treatments and data related to total runoff, rainfall, sediment and nutrient loss were collected.  Runoff increased after application of prescribed burning treatments in comparison to preburn but declined with time as vegetation recovery occurred.  Soil and nutrient data analyses are underway.