Annual Understory Plant Recovery Dynamics in a Temperate Woodland Mosaic during a Decade of Ecological Restoration

Reid, J. Leighton; Holmberg, Nels; Albrecht, Matthew A.; Arango-Caro, Sandra; Hajek, Olivia L.; Long, Quinn G.; Trager, James C.

doi:10.3375/043.040.0104

Cited by 11 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…and Pilea pumila , disturbance‐dependent forbs, such as Ageratina altissima , and the C 3 grass, Bromus pubescens , were frequent in burn scars and adjacent controls in year 3. These compositional trends point to gradual reassembly of the native woodland flora following thinning and burning treatments, consistent with those reported in nearby but much older restored oak woodland (Reid et al 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…This study was conducted at Shaw Nature Reserve (SNR) near Gray Summit, Missouri, United States (38.472125°N, −90.827671°W). Operated by the Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG), SNR is an approximately 10 km 2 mosaic of dolomite grasslands, Quercus ‐ Carya (oak‐hickory) woodlands, and bottomland forests located in the Eastern Ozark Border Ecoregion (for more details see Reid et al 2020). Our experiment at SNR took place in the central section of the Whitmire Woodland (WW) management unit (27 ha), a degraded second‐growth oak‐hickory woodland with gently sloping terrain (<15%), moderately well drained and slightly acidic to neutral silt‐loam soils (Wrengart series, pH: 6.3–7.1), and east‐ and south‐facing aspects.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Recovery of herb‐layer vegetation and soil properties after pile burning in a Midwestern oak woodland

Albrecht

Dell

Engelhardt

et al. 2021

Restoration Ecology

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Thinning and removal of woody vegetation is the first step in restoring ecosystem structure to systems altered by woody encroachment. However, pile burning—a common method of eliminating woody residue at restoration sites—can promote the establishment of exotic species and adversely impact soils and native vegetation via extreme soil heating. Despite its widespread use, pile burning effects remain poorly understood in oak woodlands compared to coniferous forests. We examined how pile burning influenced soil properties and herb‐layer recovery in a Midwestern, U.S. oak woodland undergoing restoration via exotic shrub removal, tree thinning, and prescribed burning. We quantified soil properties and passive vegetation recovery inside and adjacent to pile burn scars after 3 years, and tested whether native seed additions in year 1 increased native cover and reduced exotic cover in year 3. Bare ground cover, soil pH, and concentrations of P and Ca remained elevated 3 years after pile burning. In contrast, native cover, native richness, and floristic quality recovered to levels similar to adjacent control locations. Pile burning did not promote exotic invasions, increase inorganic forms of N, or alter patterns of the native cover of most growth forms. However, Carex species failed to reestablish in burn scars. Compared to passive recovery, seed additions increased native cover in burn scars and reduced exotic cover in adjacent control locations. Our results indicate that burn scars can naturally recover in oak woodland, but native seed additions may accelerate this process and improve restoration outcomes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recovery of herb‐layer vegetation and soil properties after pile burning in a Midwestern oak woodland

Albrecht

Dell

Engelhardt

et al. 2021

Restoration Ecology

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“…First, most studies have implemented/examined only a single management technique in restoration. Studies investigating more than one technique are less common, but they tend towards greater success (e.g., fire and seeding [ 60 ]; fire and stand thinning [ 61 ]; and the current study). Second, even fewer studies have monitored management and restoration for as long as the current 34-year study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dramatic long-term restoration of an oak woodland due to multiple, sustained management treatments

Glennemeier¹,

Packard²,

Spyreas

2020

PLoS ONE

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We measured 34 years of plant community change in a degraded oak woodland undergoing ecological management. Management included regular prescribed fire, control of white-tailed deer populations, repeated sowing of a diverse seed mix, and removal of invasive plants. We tracked change with several conservation metrics. Time series analysis showed no significant changes over time in either plant species richness or the Shannon-Weiner diversity index. Floristic Quality Assessment measures—the Floristic Quality Index (FQI), Cover-weighted FQI, and the Mean Coefficient of Conservatism (Mean C )—all increased dramatically over time, such that their values now surpass those of the highest quality representative of this habitat in the region. Cover-weighted FQI had the added benefit of being quick to respond (negatively and positively) to short-term management changes during the study. This sensitivity highlights its utility for adaptive management, enabling timely, data-driven changes to ongoing management regimes. Plant community composition showed striking changes during the study period, as species of high conservation value replaced weedier species. As a group, conservative woodland species are notoriously slow to recover from degradation, making this flora’s recovery particularly notable. A mid-study cessation of management immediately stalled the woodland’s recovery according to Floristic Quality metrics, but the restoration quickly returned to its positive trajectory with the resumption of management treatments. These results illustrate that impressive plant biodiversity restoration can be achieved, even in highly degraded contemporary oak ecosystems, if ecological management is comprehensive and if it is sustained over time.

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“…On the other hand, restoration practices that combine burning with canopy thinning often increase herbaceous richness and diversity more than burning or thinning treatments alone (Bassett et al, 2020; Vander Yacht et al, 2020). However, in severely degraded sites, especially in a fragmented landscape, restoring historical disturbance regimes often fails to recover the species composition and diversity found in remnant or reference woodland communities, at least at time‐scales relevant to the goals of restoration (Lamb et al, 2022; Reid et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High‐diversity seed additions promote herb‐layer recovery during restoration of degraded oak woodland

Kaul

Dell

Delfeld

et al. 2023

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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Seed limitation represents a fundamental constraint to the restoration of native plant communities, and practitioners often apply seed additions to overcome this barrier. However, surprisingly few studies have experimentally tested whether seed additions can increase diversity in herbaceous communities of oak woodlands, which have undergone large‐scale transformation due to logging, altered fire regimes and invasion by non‐native species. Previous studies suggest that structural (thinning of woody biomass) and process‐based (prescribed fire) restoration treatments alone are unlikely to restore the full breadth of taxonomic and functional diversity in the herb layer, which accounts for most species in woodland ecosystems. To explore whether seed additions can improve restoration outcomes in an oak woodland, we sowed high‐diversity seed mixes in paired transects (seeded vs. controls) along a topographic gradient in a degraded site undergoing restoration with non‐native shrub removal, selective tree thinning and prescribed fire. Seed mixes contained native forbs, grasses and sedges from locally sourced material (n = 169 total species) in the regional species pool, and were designed to match species' habitat affinity to appropriate locations along the topographic gradient. The herb flora was sampled pre‐seeding, and for two consecutive years after additions. Seed additions significantly altered community and functional composition, and increased native species richness by 29% (43.0 vs 55.4), and floristic quality by 30% relative to controls. However, fewer than half of the sown species were established 2 years after planting, suggesting that dispersal and establishment limitation are both important barriers to the recovery of the herb flora in oak woodlands. We also tested if species' sown abundance, conservatism or functional group predicted establishment success. Species sown at high abundances and less conservative species recruited the most reliably. Grass and forb establishment rates were more dependent on seeding rate than sedges or legumes, and the mechanisms behind this trend merit further investigation. We found that adding high‐diversity seed mixes in conjunction with non‐native shrub removal, canopy thinning and burning, can accelerate recovery of herbaceous communities in a highly degraded woodland.

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Annual Understory Plant Recovery Dynamics in a Temperate Woodland Mosaic during a Decade of Ecological Restoration

Cited by 11 publications

References 46 publications

Recovery of herb‐layer vegetation and soil properties after pile burning in a Midwestern oak woodland

Recovery of herb‐layer vegetation and soil properties after pile burning in a Midwestern oak woodland

Dramatic long-term restoration of an oak woodland due to multiple, sustained management treatments

High‐diversity seed additions promote herb‐layer recovery during restoration of degraded oak woodland

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