The Okefenokee Swamp is a large peatland occupying over 350,000 acres of southeastern Georgia. In April-June of 2007 the entire wetland burned in a catastrophic fire that was exacerbated by prolonged droughts in the southeastern US. Previous researchers mapped and quantified peat characteristics, ecological conditions, and vegetation communities over the entire peatland, prior to the fire. There now is a unique but ephemeral opportunity to undertake extensive post-fire sampling for direct comparison to pre-fire characteristics of the swamp and its vegetation. It is necessary that this study be done soon, before ecological conditions are blurred or permanently altered at the burned sites by leaching of ephemeral mineral matter, redistribution of the surface sediments (such as charcoal particles) by rainfall, reworking by burrowing and browsing organisms, and growth of short-lived post-fire vegetation. In addition to addressing the long-term potential for wetlands to sequester carbon in their sediments, the work will enhance interpretability of peat profiles collected from sites around the world. Uncontrolled fires rage in many parts of the world today, and the health and safety of many citizens is impacted through air pollution, damage to homes, extreme post-fire erosion, and destruction of wildlife and fisheries. The information on fire ecology that will be obtained will benefit State and Federal agency personnel, park managers, and other personnel involved with fire protection, water resources management, and natural resource conservation. The personnel involved in this study have a history of actively engaging the public via lectures, newspaper articles, and radio and TV interviews.
