Response of willow (Salix caroliniana Michx.) in a floodplain marsh to a growing season prescribed fire.

Volume 25 (3), 2005 ABSTRACT: In marshes, fire is considered vital in restricting woody invasion and maintaining herbaceous dominance. However, many shrub species are not killed by fire and respond to this disturbance by resprouting. We assessed the response of coastal plain willow (Salix caroliniana Michx.), a common ·-----shrub-insoutheastern· wetlands; toa-growing-season 'prescribed-fire-using-three-metrics:-stemdensity;stem basal area, and cover. We sampled burned and unburned sites before the fire and annually for four years thereafter. Cover of understory species were sampled before the fire and annually for two years after the fire.