Prescribed burning is being used in the Conasauga River Watershed in southeastern Tennessee and northern Georgia by National Forest managers to restore degraded pine/oak communities. Although burning might be an effective tool for restoring these stands, the effects of these burns on water quality was not known. To evaluate initial effects of prescribed burning on water quality, USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station scientists took measurements of soil solution, streamwater nutrient concentrations, and streamwater sediment concentration. The results suggest that low-intensity, low-severity fires could be used as a tool to restore vegetation structure and compositions in these mixed pine-hardwood ecosystems without negatively impacting water quality.

News notes are courtesy of Southern Forests Network News Notes, May 5, 2006
www.southernsustainableforests.org