Effects of Fire Frequency on Oak Savanna in East-Central Minnesota

1989 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 134 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Tester
Keyword(s):  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Oak Savanna ◽  
East Central

Reversing legacy effects in the understory of an oak-dominated forest

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 350-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Thomas-Van Gundy ◽  
James Rentch ◽  
Mary Beth Adams ◽  
Walter Carson
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Acer Rubrum ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Canopy Gaps ◽  
Red Maple ◽  
Yellow Poplar ◽  
East Central ◽  
Single Process ◽  
Process Effects ◽  
Poplar Seedlings

Current forests developed under conditions different from original forests, with higher deer densities, reduced fire frequency, denser canopies, and smaller canopy gaps. These alterations have led to understories dominated by species simultaneously browse tolerant, shade tolerant, and fire sensitive leading to difficulties in the regeneration of oak species (Quercus spp.) in some areas. We evaluated how three key processes — understory fire, canopy gaps, and browsing — influenced tree species in east central West Virginia. We were particularly interested in the response of oak species because they are the dominant overstory species and of maple species (Acer spp.), black birch (Betula lenta L.), and yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) as these are likely to replace the current forest. Single-process effects were significant and significant interactions among processes were numerous. In general, fire caused significant reductions of seedlings and saplings of red maple (Acer rubrum L.) and striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum L.) and increased the seedlings of black birch and yellow-poplar. Canopy gaps increased the abundance of black birch and yellow-poplar seedlings and saplings. Gaps and fire together caused an increase in the relative abundance of yellow-poplar. Excluding browsers and creating canopy gaps together nearly doubled oak sapling importance values versus either treatment alone; however, oak importance values remained low. Given the significant interactions of browse control with the other two processes, browse control should be considered when planning oak regeneration treatments such as canopy gaps or prescribed fire.

scholarly journals Century-scale wood nitrogen isotope trajectories from an oak savanna with variable fire frequencies

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (18) ◽  
pp. 4509-4522
Author(s):  
Matthew L. Trumper ◽  
Daniel Griffin ◽  
Sarah E. Hobbie ◽  
Ian M. Howard ◽  
David M. Nelson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Oak Savanna ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Net N Mineralization ◽  
Vegetation Composition ◽  
Prescribed Burn ◽  
Decadal Scale

Abstract. Fire frequency exerts a fundamental control on productivity and nutrient cycling in savanna ecosystems. Individual fires often increase short-term nitrogen (N) availability to plants, but repeated burning causes ecosystem N losses and can ultimately decrease soil organic matter and N availability. However, these effects remain poorly understood due to limited long-term biogeochemical data. Here, we evaluate how fire frequency and changing vegetation composition influenced wood stable N isotopes (δ15N) across space and time at one of the longest running prescribed burn experiments in the world (established in 1964). We developed multiple δ15N records across a burn frequency gradient from precisely dated Quercus macrocarpa tree rings in an oak savanna at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, Minnesota, USA. Sixteen trees were sampled across four treatment stands that varied with respect to the temporal onset of burning and burn frequency but were consistent in overstory species representation, soil characteristics, and topography. Burn frequency ranged from an unburned control stand to a high-fire-frequency stand that had burned in 4 of every 5 years during the past 55 years. Because N stocks and net N mineralization rates are currently lowest in frequently burned stands, we hypothesized that wood δ15N trajectories would decline through time in all burned stands, but at a rate proportional to the fire frequency. We found that wood δ15N records within each stand were remarkably coherent in their mean state and trend through time. A gradual decline in wood δ15N occurred in the mid-20th century in the no-, low-, and medium-fire stands, whereas there was no trend in the high-fire stand. The decline in the three stands did not systematically coincide with the onset of prescribed burning. Thus, we found limited evidence for variation in wood δ15N that could be attributed directly to long-term fire frequency in this prescribed burn experiment in temperate oak savanna. Our wood δ15N results may instead reflect decadal-scale changes in vegetation composition and abundance due to early- to mid-20th-century fire suppression.

scholarly journals Shocks to the system: community assembly of the oak savanna in a 40-year fire frequency experiment

Ecology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 93 (sp8) ◽  
pp. S52-S69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeannine Cavender-Bares ◽  
Peter B. Reich
Keyword(s):  
Community Assembly ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Oak Savanna

scholarly journals Relationship between habitat type, fire frequency, andAmblyomma americanumpopulations in east-central Alabama

2012 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damien Willis ◽  
Robert Carter ◽  
Chris Murdock ◽  
Benjie Blair
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Type ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
East Central

scholarly journals Century-scale wood nitrogen isotope trajectories from an oak savanna with variable fire frequencies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Trumper ◽  
Daniel Griffin ◽  
Sarah E. Hobbie ◽  
Ian Howard ◽  
David M. Nelson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Oak Savanna ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Net N Mineralization ◽  
Vegetation Composition ◽  
Prescribed Burn ◽  
Decadal Scale

Abstract. Fire frequency exerts a fundamental control on productivity and nutrient cycling in savanna ecosystems. A single fire event often increases short-term nitrogen (N) availability to individual plants, but repeated burning causes ecosystem carbon and N losses and can ultimately decrease soil organic matter and N availability. However, these effects remain poorly understood due to limited long-term biogeochemical data. Here, we leveraged one of the longest running prescribed burn experiments (established in 1964) to evaluate how fire frequency and changing vegetation composition influenced wood stable N isotopes (δ15N) across space and time. We developed multiple δ15N records across a burn frequency gradient from precisely dated Quercus macrocarpa tree-rings in an oak savanna at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, Minnesota, USA. Sixteen trees were sampled across four treatment stands that varied in temporal onset of burning and burn frequency, but were consistent in overstory species representation, soil characteristics, and topography. Burn frequency ranged from an unburned control stand to a high fire-frequency stand that burned in four of every five years during the past 55 years. Because N stocks and net N mineralization rates are currently lowest in frequently burned stands, we hypothesized that wood δ15N trajectories would have declined over time in all burned stands, but at a rate proportional to fire frequency. We found that wood δ15N records within each stand were remarkably coherent in their mean state and trend through time. A gradual, temporally synchronous decline in wood δ15N occurred in the mid 20th century in the no-, low-, and medium-fire stands, whereas there was no trend in the high-fire stand. The decline in the three stands did not systematically coincide with the onset of prescribed burning. Thus, we found limited evidence for variation in wood δ15N that could be attributed directly to long-term fire frequency in this prescribed burn experiment in temperate oak savanna. Our wood δ15N results may instead reflect decadal-scale changes in vegetation composition and abundance due to early to mid 20th century fire suppression.

Sirena Dotada truss spar design for East Central Gulf of Mexico

OCEANS 2009 ◽  
2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Dunbar ◽  
J. Cotten ◽  
R. Hartsfield ◽  
D. Garcia ◽  
R. Vallejo
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
East Central ◽  
Truss Spar
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