Control emergent vegetation or submersed plant species in conjunction with drawdowns

Considerations

• Set back succession of native plants
• Reduce standing crop or thatch by burning
  • Immediate re-flooding suppresses regrowth of species like cattail and torpedograss
  • Reduce energy reserves facilitating control of regrowth of species like torpedograss
• May require state and federal permits
• Requires specially training, supervision and containment equipment and strategies
  • Human considerations include smoke, fog, public safety, adjacent homes
  • Environmental considerations include humidity, temperature, wind, rainfall forecast
  • Natural area considerations include timing for wildlife utilization, nesting, forage
• Possible long-lasting and hard to suppress muck fires may result in highly organic systems
• Nutrient management
  • Rapid release of nutrients to soils
  • Some volatilization and dispersal of nutrients to surrounding areas
• Non-selective
  • Impacts to native and invasive plants
  • May stimulate seed germination
  • May not be appropriate for fire adapted invasive species
• May stimulate seed germination

Examples of Feasible Control

• Dense thatch of cattail is burned off lake bottoms during dry winter months to create room for a more diverse, open native plant community
• Dense thatch of torpedograss is burned in Lake Okeechobee while regrowth is controlled by increasing water levels or applying herbicides to more vulnerable plant shoots as they resprout