Repeated prescribed fires alter gap-phase regeneration in mixed-oak forests

The fire—oak literature of eastern North America: synthesis and guidelines

“…Yaussy and Waldrop (2010) showed that the likelihood of mortality was related to prior tree health, size class, species, and first-order fire effects. Hutchinson et al (2012) concluded that periodic fire, coupled with natural gap dynamics, may be a feasible management strategy for perpetuating oak forests where harvesting is not an option.…”

Fire in upper Midwestern oak forest ecosystems: an oak forest restoration and management handbook

“…Thus, smaller gaps tend to favor recruitment of shadetolerant mesic species such as maples over oaks (Cowell et al 2010, Fei andSteiner 2009). In a mixed forest in Ohio, large gaps that formed after prescribed burns had killed shade-tolerant advanced regeneration were much more effective at recruiting white oak saplings than gaps created in unburned forest (Hutchinson et al 2012). In this case, even though shade-tolerant species also germinated after the gaps were created, the fact that the larger advanced regeneration of shade-tolerant species had been killed by burning gave oaks a chance to compete, probably leading to co-dominance by oaks and shade-tolerant species, and at least maintaining the oak component of the stand for several more decades.…”

Facilitating Oak and Hickory Regeneration in Mature Central Hardwood Forests

“…Silviculturists now recognize that in order to secure oak regeneration on sites of moderate productivity, large canopy disturbances must be preceded by sub-canopy disturbances [6,7]. Accordingly, some public land managers and stewardship programs for private lands have initiated programs to increase oak regeneration [8].…”

“…The objectives of this paper were to compare regeneration of overstory tree species in response to fire and thinning, alone and in combination, compared to an untreated control. While similar studies have examined the results of these treatments [7,8,11,12] our paper is unique in that it does not involve an initial commercial harvest, has multiple burns, separates hardmast species by groups (white oaks, red oaks, and hickory), and occurs 10 years after initial treatments. In particular, the amount of time following treatment (10 years) will help researchers to determine how long the effects of these treatments may last.…”