Effects of an intense prescribed fire on understory vegetation in a mixed conifer forest<sup>1</sup>

Huisinga, Kristin D.; Laughlin, Daniel C.; Fulé, Peter Z.; Springer, Judith D.; McGlone, Christopher M.

doi:10.3159/1095-5674(2005)132[590:eoaipf]2.0.co;2

Cited by 65 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Higher severity fires, regardless of treatment, led to greater numbers of species and to greater cover. These effects are consistent with observations from other coniferous forests in which the benefits of burning for fire-enhanced species outweigh any detrimental effects for species that are fire-sensitive (Huisinga et al 2005, Metlen and Fiedler 2006, Knapp et al 2007). Even during second-entry burns-characterized by lower severity fires-there was sufficient variation to create strong and persistent gradients in community response.…”

Section: Relationships With Severity Of Burningsupporting

confidence: 87%

Long‐term vegetation responses to reintroduction and repeated use of fire in mixed‐conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada

Webster

Halpern

2010

Ecosphere

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Abstract. Nearly a century of fire suppression has changed fundamental aspects of the structure and functioning of fire-adapted forests throughout the western U.S. Prescribed fire is increasingly used to restore forest structure and reduce surface fuels with limited consideration of its consequences for biological diversity. In this study, we used more than two decades of data from permanent plots in mixedconifer forests of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California, to explore changes in plant diversity and abundance following reintroduction and repeated use of fire. Data on stand structure, fuel loading, fire severity and heterogeneity, and the richness and abundance of major growth forms were collected on 51 plots representing one of three treatments: control, first-entry burn, and second-entry burn. Understories showed distinct compositional changes over time in first-and second-entry burns. Burned plots supported more than twice as many species as controls 10 yr after treatment; first-entry plots showed a nearly threefold increase in richness by year 20. Burned plots supported four to five times as many shrub species as controls 5-10 yr after burning. Total plant cover (dominated by perennial forbs and shrubs) increased in first-entry plots, but did not differ from controls until 20 yr after treatment. Following secondentry, cover did not change through final sampling (year 10). Nonnative species were rare, occurring in only three plots at low abundance. Higher severity fires led to greater numbers of species and to greater plant cover. Species richness was not correlated with burn heterogeneity. Long-term observations suggest that reintroduction of fire in previously unmanaged forests can gradually enhance the diversity and abundance of understory species. Repeated burning-necessary to achieve structural and fuel-reduction objectives-does not appear to have a detrimental effect on plant diversity and may enhance the distributions of species that are adversely affected by fire exclusion. If fire is to play an important role in restoration, however, it will need to be maintained as a frequent and spatially dynamic process on the landscape.

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Section: Relationships With Severity Of Burningsupporting

confidence: 87%

Long‐term vegetation responses to reintroduction and repeated use of fire in mixed‐conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada

Webster

Halpern

2010

Ecosphere

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“…(Canadian www.elsevier.com/locate/foreco Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Forest Ecology and Management 255 (2008) [855][856][857][858][859][860][861][862][863][864][865] horseweed). In contrast, a study by Huisinga et al (2005) found that native plants were the key taxa that increased total plant species richness and abundance after a high intensity fire in Grand Canyon National Park. They attributed the limited exotic species response to the fact that this area was never logged and rarely grazed by livestock (grazing in GCNP ceased in the mid 1930s), so there were few or no exotic species seeds present in the seed bank.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…This study and the accompanying research we did on the Apache-Sitgreaves NF have shown low exotic cover despite active management and fire use over a long period of time (Table 5). Huisinga et al (2005) found 28% total plant cover 6 years after an intense prescribed fire, and of that, <1% was exotic plant cover. Eight years post-burn, they found 50% total plant cover, and only 1.0% was exotic species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Effects of fire severity and pre-fire stand treatment on plant community recovery after a large wildfire

Kuenzi

Fulé

Sieg

2008

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…Common dandelion, the second most negatively correlated species to Axis 1, was considered an indicator of burned areas in Grand Canyon National Park (Huisinga et al, 2005), but may peak in production the first year or two following prescribed fires in Douglas-fir (P. menziesii (Mirbel) forests in south-central Idaho (Lyon, 1966). The decline of common dandelion in the sites of 2002 and 2003 reflects a time lag response since the 1972 wildfire, as well as the droughty conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in understory vegetation of a ponderosa pine forest in northern Arizona 30 years after a wildfire

Bataineh

Oswald

Bataineh

et al. 2006

Forest Ecology and Management

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Wildland fires can cause shifts in understory species composition and production. Many studies have examined short-term changes in understory vegetation following a wildfire; however, very few long-term studies are available. The objective of this study was to examine changes in understory (herbaceous and shrub) species composition and production since the 1972 Rattle Burn wildfire on the Coconino National Forest near Flagstaff, Arizona. Understory species composition and production were originally sampled in 1972, 1974, and 1980 and were re-sampled during July and August of 2002 and 2003 on 30 plots in each of four sites: high severity burn, low severity burn, unburned site prescribed burned in 1977, and an unburned site. Repeated measures analysis was used to test for the effects of fire and time on understory species production. The effects of fire on understory species composition were tested using multi-response permutation procedures (MRPP). A lingering effect of the Rattle Burn wildfire on the understory plant production and composition was revealed. Severely burned sites, which had the least pine basal area, may have greater understory production as compared to unburned sites up to 30 years after a wildfire. However, species composition on all sites was altered. A significant, negative relationship was found between tree basal area and understory species composition and production for

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Effects of an intense prescribed fire on understory vegetation in a mixed conifer forest¹

Cited by 65 publications

References 34 publications

Long‐term vegetation responses to reintroduction and repeated use of fire in mixed‐conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada

Long‐term vegetation responses to reintroduction and repeated use of fire in mixed‐conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada

Effects of fire severity and pre-fire stand treatment on plant community recovery after a large wildfire

Changes in understory vegetation of a ponderosa pine forest in northern Arizona 30 years after a wildfire

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Effects of an intense prescribed fire on understory vegetation in a mixed conifer forest1

Cited by 65 publications

References 34 publications

Long‐term vegetation responses to reintroduction and repeated use of fire in mixed‐conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada

Long‐term vegetation responses to reintroduction and repeated use of fire in mixed‐conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada

Effects of fire severity and pre-fire stand treatment on plant community recovery after a large wildfire

Changes in understory vegetation of a ponderosa pine forest in northern Arizona 30 years after a wildfire

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Effects of an intense prescribed fire on understory vegetation in a mixed conifer forest¹