Fortunately, Ernst Brender, the scientist selected to lead research at the Hitchiti, was not one to be swayed by popular opinion. He and his staff discovered that high-quality wood could be produced rapidly on the old fields of the Hitchiti, a finding that foresters take for granted today, but one that prompted expansion of the forest industry in the Southeast and changed the landscape of the southern Piedmont.

In the late 1980s, two findings— that wood consumption would outstrip production and that the best opportunity for increased production was on the small nonindustrial stands of natural pine that typified the southern landscape—prompted the designation of the Hitchiti as a demonstration forest. In cooperation with the Georgia Forestry Commission and the Southern Industrial Forest Research Council, Hitchiti staff developed 25 plots to teach the principles of sound resource management. These plots provide a wide range of demonstrations, including clone banks and genetic improvement practices, redcockaded woodpecker restoration, disease resistance, insect infestation suppression, clearcutting and unevenaged management, postharvesting site preparation, and prescribed burning.

In 1987, a team of scientists led by SRS researcher Dale Wade established a series of plots on the Hitchiti to test the effects of season and frequency of prescribed burning on fuel reduction and Piedmont forest structure. They tested responses to six different treatments in a stand of naturally regenerated loblolly and shortleaf pines that had not been burned in over 50 years, tracking results by periodic measurements and surveys. A primary objective of the study was to influence public opinion about the benefits of frequent low-intensity prescribed fire versus fire exclusion.

Kenneth Outcalt, SRS research plant ecologist based in Athens, GA, took over management of the study when Wade retired in January 2003. “There are only a handful of studies like this in the South,” says Outcalt. “This is the only one that I am aware of in the Piedmont, or in these mixed pine and hardwood stands.” In 2004, the 15-year measurements were taken, which showed that even infrequent burning will control hardwood saplings that, once they make it into the midstory, are difficult to reduce in pine stands. Burning also increases the herbaceous cover in the understory, often a desirable goal in restoration and wildlife recovery efforts—and doesn’t affect the large pines that house the red-cockaded woodpecker.

Because the plots are located along a major road—and next to the popular Hitchiti Hiking Trail—researchers and foresters use the studies to demonstrate the effects of prescribed burning to the public. The difference is readily apparent between plots where fire has been excluded and those that have been burned frequently at low intensities. A grant from the Joint Fire Science Program has funded a permanent outdoor display, individual treatment plot signs, and a fact sheet for a self-guided tour of the prescribed burn study.

As a demonstration forest, the Brender has an onsite manager, John Moore, and staff who provide outreach and tours to interested groups. The prescribed burn study is a featured stop on tours conducted for other researchers, land managers, foreign scientists, students, State and Federal employees, and the interested public. The experimental forest also includes an arboretum of native Georgia trees, two interpretive walking trails, and the Hitchiti Natural Area.

Read more about the prescribed fire study at www.srs.fs.usda.gov/hitchiti/.

Collaborators:

Oconee National Forest, Brender Demonstration Forest, Georgia Forestry Commission, Southern Industrial Forest Research Council

For more information:
John Moore at 478-986-3914 or jmoore03@fs.fed.us