Effects of Early Spring Burning on Yields of Native Vegetation

Launchbaugh, J. L.

doi:10.2307/3895539

Cited by 35 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…1, 2b). Such increases in primary production after fire are not typically observed in Mediterranean-climate annual grassland systems, such as this one, where litter accumulation is low and fires are typically of low intensity and severity (Launchbaugh 1964;Hurlbert 1969) but are more typical of tallgrass prairie systems (Abrams et al 1986;Briggs and Knapp 1995). Even at the JRGCE, when plant biomass was analyzed over the entire growing season (as opposed to the first peak in April 2004), no differences were observed between burned and unburned plots (Henry et al 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Soil microbial responses to fire and interacting global change factors in a California annual grassland

et al. 2011

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Wildfire in California annual grasslands is an important ecological disturbance and ecosystem control. Regional and global climate changes that affect aboveground biomass will alter fire-related nutrient loading and promote increased frequency and severity of fire in these systems. This can have longterm impacts on soil microbial dynamics and nutrient cycling, particularly in N-limited systems such as annual grasslands. We examined the effects of a lowseverity fire on microbial biomass and specific microbial lipid biomarkers over 3 years following a fire at the Jasper Ridge Global Change Experiment. We also examined the impact of fire on the abundance of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), specifically Nitrosospira Cluster 3a ammonia-oxidizers, and nitrification rates 9 months post-fire. Finally, we examined the interactive effects of fire and three other global change factors (N-deposition, precipitation and CO 2 ) on plant biomass and soil microbial communities for three growing seasons after fire. Our results indicate that a low-severity fire is associated with earlier season primary productivity and higher soil-NH 4? concentrations in the first growing season following fire. Belowground productivity and total microbial biomass were not influenced by fire. Diagnostic microbial lipid biomarkers, including those for Gram-positive bacteria and Gram-negative bacteria, were reduced by fire 9-and 21-months post-fire, respectively. All effects of fire were indiscernible by 33-months post-fire, suggesting that above and belowground responses to fire do not persist in the long-term and that these grassland University of Oregon and University of Wisconsin-Madisoninstitutions where this research took place.Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (communities are resilient to fire disturbance. While N-deposition increased soil NH 4 ? , and thus available NH 3 , AOB abundance, nitrification rates and Cluster 3a AOB, similar increases in NH 3 in the fire plots did not affect AOB or nitrification. We hypothesize that this difference in response to N-addition involves a mediation of P-limitation as a result of fire, possibly enhanced by increased plant competition and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi-plant associations after fire.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Soil microbial responses to fire and interacting global change factors in a California annual grassland

et al. 2011

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“…Several early studies reported reduced ANPP or cover of desired grass species post-fire, leading to the widespread perception that fire is detrimental in the shortgrass steppe (Bragg, 1978;Dwyer and Pieper, 1967;Hopkins et al, 1948;Launchbaugh, 1964;Trlica and Schuster, 1969). Perhaps due to the negative perceptions of burning, the effects of fire in the shortgrass steppe and mixed-grass prairie have received only sporadic attention over the last sixty years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Percent change in aboveground net primary productivity ((burned À unburned)/unburned) in one, two, or three or more years after fire as a function of mean annual precipitation. Data from Brockway et al (2002), Dix (1960), Dwyer and Pieper (1967), Engle and Bultsma (1984), Gartner et al (1978), Hopkins et al (1948), Launchbaugh (1964), Morrison et al (1986), Owensby and Launchbaugh (1977), Pfeiffer and Steuter (1994), Shay et al (2001), Steuter (1987), Trlica and Schuster (1969). …”

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confidence: 99%

Response of the shortgrass steppe plant community to fire

Scheintaub

Derner²,

Kelly

et al. 2009

Journal of Arid Environments

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“…topography, soil, fauna (insects, herbivores), together with herbaceous plants [57] [60], can restrict the encroachment of woody plant (trees, shrubs), release nutrients bound up in organic matter, accelerating the rate of decomposition in the soil, so as to maintain the establishment and the stability of grasslands [6] [57] [61]. Descriptive studies [62] [63] show that fire occurrences decrease herbaceous production for one to three years. Meanwhile, herbaceous response is influenced strongly by precipitation.…”

Section: Impact Of Firementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Launchbaugh [63] examined a spring wildfire in shortgrass prairie when the soil moisture was low, and found that fire caused short-term declines in plant biomass. It took three growing seasons for a burned grass community to return to a level comparable to the unburned state.…”

Section: Coupling With the Climatementioning

confidence: 99%

Long Term Effect of Major Disturbances on the Northern Mixed Grassland Ecosystem—A Review

Li¹,

Guo²

2014

OJE

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Grassland ecosystems in North America have been significantly altered through various disturbances from past to present. This paper has identified and examined major disturbances in the grassland ecosystems, which include grazing, fire and drought. A brief history of each disturbance is reviewed and its impact on the grassland ecosystem is discussed, by synthesizing previous research efforts available in the current literature. The paper intends to understand the grassland ecosystem from a comprehensive perspective and particularly tries to articulate the compound effect of the major disturbances in the same context instead of viewing them in isolations. It is concluded that a holistic understanding of the interaction between disturbances and plant communities is essential for sustainable grassland management, which demands comprehensive research effort in this area. The paper also points out the challenges we are facing in the current researches and suggests potential future improvement.

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Effects of Early Spring Burning on Yields of Native Vegetation

Cited by 35 publications

References 3 publications

Soil microbial responses to fire and interacting global change factors in a California annual grassland

Soil microbial responses to fire and interacting global change factors in a California annual grassland

Response of the shortgrass steppe plant community to fire

Long Term Effect of Major Disturbances on the Northern Mixed Grassland Ecosystem—A Review

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