Foliar litter position and decomposition in a fire-maintained longleaf pine – wiregrass ecosystem

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 928-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph J Hendricks ◽  
Carlos A Wilson ◽  
Lindsay R Boring
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Longleaf Pine ◽  
Pinus Palustris ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
N Losses ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
Decay Constants ◽  
P Immobilization

Foliar litter position and decomposition were assessed in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) - wiregrass (Aristida beyrichiana Trin. & Rupr.) woodlands during a 3-year burn interval. Position assessments revealed 57.7 and 67.4% of foliar litter was elevated in wiregrass crowns 1 and 2 years, respectively, following burning. Decomposition assessments revealed soil-surface mass loss decay constants (range 0.097–0.282) similar to those measured in comparable pine forests. However, elevated longleaf pine and wiregrass litter exhibited decay constants (0.052 and 0.074, respectively) 50% lower than corresponding soil-surface rates and among the lowest values in the literature. With the exception of wiregrass, which did not exhibit an immobilization of the nutrients (N, P, Ca, K, and Mg) assessed, foliar litter exhibited either extensive P immobilization with minimal N immobilization or minimal, short-lived immobilization of N, P, or both N and P. The percentage of original N and P remaining after 3 years varied widely among the soil surface (N range 6.3–56.3%; P range 3.4–204.7%) and elevated (N range 76.8–94.9%; P range 52.0–99.2%) litter. These results suggest that fire regimes typically employed in longleaf pine – wiregrass woodlands may balance N losses via volatilization with P limitations via litter immobilization.

scholarly journals Twenty Years of Prescribed Burning Influence the Development of Direct-Seeded Longleaf Pine on a Wet Pine Site in Louisiana

2000 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Haywood ◽  
Harold E. Grelen
Keyword(s):  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Longleaf Pine ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Pinus Palustris ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
The Other ◽  
Direct Seeded ◽  
Longleaf Pines ◽  
Initial Research

Abstract Prescribed burning treatments were applied over a 20 yr period in a completely randomized field study to determine the effects of various fire regimes on vegetation in a direct seeded stand of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.). Seeding was done in November 1968. The study area was broadcast-burned about 16 months after seeding. The initial research treatments were applied in 1973, and as many as 12 research burns were applied through 1993. Pines were measured in March 1995. Prescribed burning resulted in a greater stocking of longleaf pine (an average of 598 trees/ac) on treated plots than on unburned plots (30 trees/ac). However, on the burned treatments, longleaf pines were significantly smaller (2.5 ft3/tree of stemwood) than were the unburned trees (3.7ft3/tree of stemwood). Half of the treated plots were burned in early March, and the other half were burned in early May. Seasons of burning did not significantly influence longleaf pine stocking. However, use of fire in May resulted in significantly greater basal area (100 ft2/ac) and stemwood production (1,921 ft3/ac) than burning in March (59 ft2/ac and 909 ft3/ac). Fire effectively kept natural loblolly pine (P. taeda L.) seedlings from reaching sapling size, but loblolly saplings and poles dominated the unburned plots (710 trees/ac). When all pines were considered on all treatments, stocking ranged from 467 to 740 trees/ac, but stocking was not significantly different among treatments. The unburned plots had significantly greater total basal area (149 ft2/ac) and stemwood productivity (2,918 ft3/ac) than the burned treatments (82 ft2/ac and 1,459 ft3 /ac). Likewise, hardwoods that were at least 1 in. dbh were more common on unburned p lots (327 stems/ac) than on burned treatments (58 stems/ac). South. J. Appl. For. 24(2):86-92.

Measuring moisture dynamics to predict fire severity in longleaf pine forests

2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue A. Ferguson ◽  
Julia E. Ruthford ◽  
Steven J. McKay ◽  
David Wright ◽  
Clint Wright ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Longleaf Pine ◽  
Pinus Palustris ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Fuel Load ◽  
Fuel Moisture ◽  
Weather Stations ◽  
Moisture Conditions

To understand the combustion limit of biomass fuels in a longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) forest, an experiment was conducted to monitor the moisture content of potentially flammable forest floor materials (litter and duff) at Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle. While longleaf pine forests are fire dependent ecosystems, a long history of fire exclusion has allowed large amounts of pine litter and duff to accumulate. Reintroducing fire to remove excess fuel without killing the longleaf pine trees requires care to burn under litter and duff moisture conditions that alternately allow fire to carry while preventing root exposure or stem girdle. The study site was divided into four blocks that were burned under litter and duff moisture conditions of wet, moist, dry, and very dry. Throughout the 4-month experiment, portable weather stations continuously collected meteorological data, which included continuous measurements of water content in the forest floor material from in situ, time-domain reflectometers. In addition, volumetric moisture samples were collected almost weekly, and pre-burn fuel load and subsequent consumption were measured for each burn. Meteorological variables from the weather stations compared with trends in fuel moisture showed the influence of relative humidity and precipitation on the drying and wetting rates of the litter and duff. Fuel moisture conditions showed significant influence on patterns of fuel consumption and could lead to an understanding of processes that govern longleaf pine mortality.

Overstory tree mortality resulting from reintroducing fire to long-unburned longleaf pine forests: the importance of duff moisture

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 1349-1358 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Morgan Varner ◽  
J. Kevin Hiers ◽  
Roger D. Ottmar ◽  
Doria R. Gordon ◽  
Francis E. Putz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Moisture Content ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Longleaf Pine ◽  
Pinus Palustris ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Control Treatment ◽  
Crown Scorch ◽  
Fire Effect ◽  
Minimal Reduction ◽  
Overstory Tree

In forests historically maintained by frequent fire, reintroducing fire after decades of exclusion often causes widespread overstory mortality. To better understand this phenomenon, we subjected 16 fire-excluded (ca. 40 years since fire) 10 ha longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris Mill.) stands to one of four replicated burning treatments based on volumetric duff moisture content (VDMC): wet (115% VDMC); moist (85% VDMC); dry (55% VDMC); and a no-burn control. During the first 2 years postfire, overstory pines in the dry burns suffered the greatest mortality (mean 20.5%); pine mortality in the wet and moist treatments did not differ from the control treatment. Duff reduction was greatest in the dry burns (mean 46.5%), with minimal reduction in the moist and wet burns (14.5% and 5%, respectively). Nested logistic regression using trees from all treatments revealed that the best predictors of individual pine mortality were duff consumption and crown scorch (P < 0.001; R2 = 0.34). Crown scorch was significant only in dry burns, whereas duff consumption was significant across all treatments. Duff consumption was related to moisture content in lower duff (Oa; R2 = 0.78, P < 0.001). Restoring fire to long-unburned forests will require development of burn prescriptions that include the effects of duff consumption, an often overlooked fire effect.

Ecosystem carbon stocks in Pinus palustris forests

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 476-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa J. Samuelson ◽  
Tom A. Stokes ◽  
John R. Butnor ◽  
Kurt H. Johnsen ◽  
Carlos A. Gonzalez-Benecke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Longleaf Pine ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Pinus Palustris ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Coarse Roots ◽  
Soil C ◽  
C Stocks ◽  
Below Ground

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) restoration in the southeastern United States offers opportunities for carbon (C) sequestration. Ecosystem C stocks are not well understood in longleaf pine forests, which are typically of low density and maintained by prescribed fire. The objectives of this research were to develop allometric equations for above- and below-ground biomass and quantify ecosystem C stocks in five longleaf pine forests ranging in age from 5 to 87 years and in basal area from 0.4 to 22.6 m2·ha−1. Live aboveground C (woody plant + ground cover) and live root C (longleaf pine below stump + plot level coarse roots + plot level fine roots) ranged from 1.4 and 2.9 Mg C·ha−1, respectively, in the 5-year-old stand to 78.4 and 19.2 Mg C·ha−1, respectively, in the 87-year-old stand. Total ecosystem C (live plant + dead organic matter + mineral soil) values were 71.6, 110.1, 124.6, 141.4, and 185.4 Mg C·ha−1 in the 5-, 12-, 21-, 64-, and 87-year-old stands, respectively, and dominated by tree C and soil C. In the 5-year-old stand, ground cover C and residual taproot C were significant C stocks. This unique, in-depth assessment of above- and below-ground C across a series of longleaf pine stands will improve estimates of C in longleaf pine ecosystems and contribute to development of general biomass models that account for variation in climate, site, and management history in an important but understudied ecosystem.

scholarly journals Vegetative Response to 37 Years of Seasonal Burning on a Louisiana Longleaf Pine Site

2001 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 122-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Haywood ◽  
Finis L. Harris ◽  
Harold E. Grelen ◽  
Henry A. Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Longleaf Pine ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Pinus Palustris ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Schizachyrium Scoparium ◽  
Herbaceous Plants ◽  
Herbaceous Plant

Abstract From 1962 through 1998, 20 prescribed burns were applied in a natural stand of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) to determine the effects of various fire regimes on the forest plant community. The original longleaf seedlings regenerated from the 1955 seed crop and were growing in a grass-dominated cover when the study began. By 1999, prescribed burning in March and May resulted in a significantly greater stocking of longleaf pine (203 trees/ac) than on the unburned and July burned treatments (72 trees/ac) (α = 0.05). Fire arrested the growth of natural loblolly pine (P. taeda L.) and hardwoods, but loblolly pines and hardwoods of at least 4 in. dbh added 70 ft2/ac of basal area on the unburned plots. Thus, total woody basal area was significantly greater on the unburned (117 ft2/ac) and May burned (132 ft2/ac) treatments than on the July burned treatment (66 ft2/ac); basal area was intermediate on the March burned treatment (97 ft2/ac). Pine volume was 4,315, 2,870, 2,652, and 1,970 ft3 inside-bark/ac on the May burned, March burned, unburned, and July burned treatments, respectively, but these differences were not statistically significant (P = 0.06). There was only 11 lb/ac of herbaceous plants on the unburned plots. Herbaceous plants averaged 993 lb/ac on the three burned treatments, with pinehill bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium var. divergens [Hack] Gould) being the most common herbaceous plant. We believe the chief influence of burning in this natural longleaf pine forest was not on pine yield but how fires influenced overall stand structure and species composition. South. J. Appl. For. 25(3):122–130.

scholarly journals The importance of termites and fire to dead wood consumption in the longleaf pine ecosystem

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Ulyshen ◽  
Thomas N. Sheehan
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Dead Wood ◽  
Longleaf Pine ◽  
Interactive Effect ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Pinus Palustris ◽  
Wood Combustion ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Wood Consumption

AbstractMicrobes, insects, and fire are the primary drivers of wood loss from most ecosystems, but interactions among these factors remain poorly understood. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that termites and fire have a synergistic effect on wood loss from the fire-adapted longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) ecosystem in the southeastern United States. We predicted that the extensive galleries created by termites would promote the ignition and consumption of logs by fire. We exposed logs from which termites had or had not been excluded to prescribed fire after 2.5 years in the field. We found little support for our hypothesis as there was no significant interactive effect of termites and fire on wood mass loss. Moreover, there was no significant difference in mass loss between burned and unburned logs. Termites were responsible for about 13.3% of observed mass loss in unprotected logs, a significant effect, while microbial activity accounted for most of the remaining mass loss. We conclude that fire has little effect on wood loss from the longleaf pine ecosystem and that termite activity does not strongly promote wood combustion. However, longer term research involving multiple burn cycles, later stages of decay, and differing fire intensities will be needed to fully address this question.

Patterns and controls of ecosystem function in longleaf pine - wiregrass savannas. II. Nitrogen dynamics

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 752-760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos A Wilson ◽  
Robert J Mitchell ◽  
Joseph J Hendricks ◽  
Lindsay R Boring
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
N Mineralization ◽  
Longleaf Pine ◽  
Pinus Palustris ◽  
First Year ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Net N Mineralization ◽  
Ecological Gradient ◽  
N Losses ◽  
In Fire

The productivity of many temperate forests is nitrogen limited. Controls on N availability are particularly important in fire-maintained ecosystems such as longleaf pine - wiregrass (Pinus palustris Mill. - Aristida stricta Michx.) forests of the Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States, where periodic burning can result in substantial N losses. This study quantifies variation in net N mineralization across a complex ecological gradient for longleaf pine - wiregrass forests, from dry sandhills to wet-mesic sites adjacent to wetlands, for the first year after burning. Net N mineralization was consistently higher for the xeric site and declined as soil moisture status increased. Higher N availability was primarily due to higher rates of net nitrification in these plots, suggesting possible substrate-induced influences. Temperature was positively related to net N mineralization, while percent soil moisture was inversely correlated to net N mineralization. The greater N availability on dry sites may reflect greater quality organic matter inputs resulting from a significant hardwood (Quercus laevis Walt. predominately) component, and (or) it may reflect microclimate differences (warmer soil) that accelerate decomposition of detritus in soil.

scholarly journals Coal Fly Ash and Polyacrylamide Influence Transport and Redistribution of Soil Nitrogen in a Sandy Sloping Land

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Kai Yang ◽  
Zejun Tang ◽  
Jianzhang Feng
Keyword(s):  
Fly Ash ◽  
Sandy Soil ◽  
Coal Fly Ash ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Nutrient Retention ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Rainfall Event ◽  
N Losses ◽  
N Concentration ◽  
Application Rates

Sandy soils are prone to nutrient losses, and consequently do not have as much as agricultural productivity as other soils. In this study, coal fly ash (CFA) and anionic polyacrylamide (PAM) granules were used as a sandy soil amendment. The two additives were incorporated to the sandy soil layer (depth of 0.2 m, slope gradient of 10°) at three CFA dosages and two PAM dosages. Urea was applied uniformly onto the low-nitrogen (N) soil surface prior to the simulated rainfall experiment (rainfall intensity of 1.5 mm/min). The results showed that compared with no addition of CFA and PAM, the addition of CFA and/or PAM caused some increases in the cumulative NO3−-N and NH4+-N losses with surface runoff; when the rainfall event ended, 15% CFA alone treatment and 0.01–0.02% PAM alone treatment resulted in small but significant increases in the cumulative runoff-associated NO3−-N concentration (p < 0.05), meanwhile 10% CFA + 0.01% PAM treatment and 15% CFA alone treatment resulted in nonsignificant small increases in the cumulative runoff-associated NH4+-N concentration (p > 0.05). After the rainfall event, both CFA and PAM alone treatments increased the concentrations of NO3−-N and NH4+-N retained in the sandy soil layer compared with the unamended soil. As the CFA and PAM co-application rates increased, the additive effect of CFA and PAM on improving the nutrient retention of sandy soil increased.

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