The effect of fire on wood quality was identified as one of the four highest forestry research needs by the Missouri Department of Conservation resource
managers in 2003. The stated goal of the Missouri Department of Conservation is “to protect and manage the fish, forest, and wildlife resources of the state”. This includes the protection of
forest timber resources from natural disturbance agents such as fire and insects that degrade wood quality. It is generally understood that uncontrolled fires can dramatically degrade wood quality;
however less is known about the effects of prescribed burning. Prescribed fire is a natural and traditional technology that has been used to modify forest vegetation for many objectives such as improving
wildlife habitat, fuel reduction, thinning stands for drought and insect resistance, improving oak regeneration, and improving herbaceous diversity. Yet, as with any management tool, there are negative
aspects of prescribed burning. These can include reductions in the abundance of leaf litter fauna, increased soil erosion, and the subject of this project: the cambial injury of trees and their timber quality.
The goal of this project was to examine the number, anatomy and ecology of fire scars resulting from prescribed fires in forests of the Missouri Ozarks. To this end we examined three subjects:
1) the number of fire scars by tree and their respective environmental characteristics, 2) an anatomical study of fire scar variability and scarring effects on wood qualities, and
3) the effects of fire on the density of shortleaf pine wood. Additionally, we examined the utility of the Resistograph instrument for understanding internal tree defects and timber quality.
Final report submitted to Missouri Department of Conservation:
Above: Three oak trees with increasing scar sizes and their respective volume in woundwood and decay six years
following a prescribed fire.
Orange stripe on tree is dbh (4.5 ft above ground)
