Pre-burn survey of overstory vegetation at Jacobs Branch and Devils Den burn sites, 1989

On three sites in the southern Appalachians, stands characterized by sparse overstories and dense Kalmia latifolia shrub layers were felled in early summer and burned in early fall. Amounts of aboveground vegetation and forest floor mass, nitrogen (N), and carbon (C) were measured before and after treatment by sampling wood, foliage, herbs and grasses, and forest floor (Oi and Oe+Oa layers). Burning decreased woody mass by 48 to 60% across the three sites. Significant losses of mass, N, and C occurred in the Oi layer, but not in the Oe + Oa layer. Total aboveground N losses across sites ranged from 193 to 480 kg ha_-1_. These losses may be significant because N availability is low on these sites. Variations in patterns of mass, N, and C consumption were related to differences in amounts, types, size distributions, and moisture contents of fuels.