Recent Fire History of the Northern Great Plains

Umbanhowar, Charles E.

doi:10.2307/2426877

Cited by 72 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Based on some botanical research, fire has been inferred by many to be the dominant process maintaining the openness (uncanopied condition) of prairie and savanna (Sauer 1950;Stewart 1956;Vogl 1974;Nuzzo 1986), although the primary cause (lightning or humans), season, and frequency of these fires remains in dispute (Russell 1983;Higgins 1984Higgins , 1986Howe 1994;Umbanhowar 1996). Prairie existed for millions of years before humans arrived in North America (Weaver 1954).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benefit of permanent non-fire refugia for Lepidoptera conservation in fire-managed sites

Swengel¹,

Swengel²

2006

J Insect Conserv

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From the early 1990s through 2005, we conducted butterfly transect surveys annually at the same sites in three regions of Wisconsin. We compared specialist butterfly population indices at three sites where a permanent non-fire refugium (a unit kept unburned through cycles of rotational fire elsewhere in the site) was established during this study to indices at comparison sites (which had consistent management throughout this study) in the same region. At Crex Meadows (12,180 ha), all significant changes in specialist numbers skewed toward relatively higher abundance in the refugium (14 ha, last burned in 1988) during the later period (1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005) versus 10 comparison subsites (fire-managed in both periods) than expected from observations in the earlier period . The same pattern occurred in the refugium (4 ha) at Bauer-Brockway (125 ha), after the rest of that unit (9 ha) had its first management fire. Population trends were positive in these refugia, while the comparison sites usually had less favorable trends, or otherwise had similar trends. At Muralt Bluff (25 ha), regal fritillaries (Speyeria idalia) were more concentrated in the refugium (3 ha, last burned in 1991) during the earlier period but were more abundant in both periods in the refugium than the other units there (fire-managed in both periods). In the earlier period at Muralt Bluff, this species significantly declined, the opposite trend of comparison sites (which always had never-burned refugia), but significantly increased in the later period, similar to comparison sites. The refugium did not benefit Ottoe skipper (Hesperia ottoe), which declined significantly in the earlier period and was not recorded in the later period. Formerly burned units began functioning as refugia only >6-8 years after last fire and continued to increase in benefit for years after that. In fire-managed and fireprone sites, we recommend the creation of permanent non-fire refugia for Lepidoptera conservation, placed where the most specialists will benefit and managed unintensively (e.g. mowing) if needed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benefit of permanent non-fire refugia for Lepidoptera conservation in fire-managed sites

Swengel¹,

Swengel²

2006

J Insect Conserv

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“…Similar densities among summer, fall, and spring fire and non-burned controls combined with variable spring precipitation suggest that these native perennial grasses are well adapted to fire and spring drought (Russell et al 2013). These responses are indicative of their evolutionary history and plant adaptations (Engle and Bultsma 1984;Umbanhowar 1996;Pausas and Schwilk 2012). Bouteloua gracilis and H. comata tiller numbers decreased the first post-fire growing season, regardless of season of burning.…”

Section: Aboveground Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…These dormant axillary buds resume development at a later time, depending on their developmental program, or in response to environmental cues (Stafstrom and Sussex 1992;Shimizu and Mori 1998). This temporary bud strategy is possible since northern mixed-grass prairie evolved under summer fire regimes where temporary dormancy of buds may be advantageous in order to cope with increased summer fire intensity and heat stress (Higgins 1984;Umbanhowar 1996).…”

Section: Immediate Season Of Fire Effects On Bud Bank Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Season of fire manipulates bud bank dynamics in northern mixed-grass prairie

Russell¹,

Vermeire

Ganguli

et al. 2015

Plant Ecol

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In perennial grassland dominated systems, belowground bud banks regulate plant community dynamics. Plant community responses to disturbance are largely driven by the ability to generate future aboveground growth originating from belowground axillary buds. This study examined bud bank dynamics for Bouteloua gracilis, Hesperostipa comata, and Pascopyrum smithii following fire in northwestern mixed-grass prairie in eastern Montana, USA. Belowground axillary buds were counted and classified for three growing seasons to determine immediate and short-term effects of summer, fall, and spring prescribed burns on patterns of bud bank activity, dormancy, and mortality. Prescribed burns did not result in immediate mortality of B. gracilis, H. comata, or P. smithii buds. Surprisingly, spring prescribed burns immediately increased the number of active B. gracilis buds. Summer fire, however, reduced B. gracilis active bud numbers. Fall burns immediately activated P. smithii buds, whereas fire did not influence any immediate bud dynamics for H. comata. Reduced bud numbers of H. comata may limit the ability to respond to fire. Season of fire directly manipulated bud activity, dormancy, and mortality for these species throughout the growing and dormant seasons following fire. Using season of fire to manipulate bud bank dynamics illustrates potential to improve post-fire management strategies based on known bud development trajectories and bud dynamics following fire.

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“…Mainly because reliable long term historical records of fire occurrences on the prairie are not available, due to at least three reasons: 1) throughout history fire's role in the grassland ecosystem has been ignored, resulting in little records of fire occurrences, except occasionally sparse burning events can be traced in personal journals or some other sources, however with low data quality; 2) Fire occurrences can be identified accurately based on burned scars on trees [51]; yet there are not enough trees on the prairie to provide such data; 3) Charcoal fragments is another way of investigating fire's impact. Umbanhowar [72] sampled some charcoal remains from lake sediment cores to study the fire frequency of pre-and post-settlement period on the northern Great Plains. However, such research requires tremendous data collection effort and also brings negative disturbances to the ecosystem.…”

Section: Restoration Of Historical Fire Regimementioning

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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Recent Fire History of the Northern Great Plains

Cited by 72 publications

References 24 publications

Benefit of permanent non-fire refugia for Lepidoptera conservation in fire-managed sites

Benefit of permanent non-fire refugia for Lepidoptera conservation in fire-managed sites

Season of fire manipulates bud bank dynamics in northern mixed-grass prairie

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

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