Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2007 [Everglades National Park]

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A summary of fire ecology activities and program information for the Park/network including fire effects plot workload, staffing, management objectives and monitoring results, and planning, fire monitoring, communications, and research. Also included are staff accomplishments/areas of focus, future program direction and other optional information (e.g. data analysis graphics or presentations, annual highlights, publications, program challenges, unique solutions to problems, collaboration, photographs of monitoring/fire activities, and suggestions on FFI). The Everglades National Park fire monitoring program continued to evolve in 2007 as the methods for reading the standard plots were refined to better meet the needs of South Florida ecosystems and park objectives. In the Pine Rocklands, monitoring of the host plants for rare butterflies continued and new insect diversity, shrub, and rare herbaceous plant monitoring studies were implemented in 2007. The crew archived several thousand photo-monitoring slides from previous years’ reads. Our fire effects monitors continued to serve as advisors to the Pine Rockland Working Group, an international, multi-agency effort which has been effective at making recommendations and taking action to protect this imperiled ecosystem. In December, Fire Effects monitors organized the 7th annual 2007 Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow symposium (Fire Management Strategy of Occupied Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow Habitat). The Fire Effects staff served on prescribed fires, wildland fires and out of park fire assignments. Collaboration between the Everglades Fire Effects team continued with the prescribed fire crew at Big Cypress. The Fire Effects staff along with one of the Prescribed Fire Technicians coordinated with the Exotics Coordinator and the Hole in the Donut Restoration Coordinator to develop prescribed fire objectives and combined monitoring efforts for the 2008 exotics areas burn plan.

Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2007 [Everglades National Park]

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