Thinning effects on canopy structure and ground layer diversity in a burned mesic oak savanna

Bowles, Marlin L.; Lawrence, Beth A.; Antlitz, Deborah J.

doi:10.3159/torrey-d-16-00015r1

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Differences in taxonomic richness patterns may be attributed to different stand types and ecoregions between the studies, as the South Carolina Pinus-dominated stands likely had different canopy-specific leaf area and structure compared with the mixed Pinus-Quercus stands. Increased richness was partially explained by increased light availability after fire, as past studies in other forest types had found (Phillips et al 2007;Phillips and Waldrop 2008;Barrioz et al 2013;Bowles et al 2017). As light availability is generally considered a limiting resource for ground flora in closed-canopy stands, we hypothesize that increased light availability caused by thinning and maintained by frequent burning provided adequate conditions for ground flora Fig.…”

Section: Ground Flora and Rapid Successionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Temporal patterns of ground flora response to fire in thinned Pinus–Quercus stands

et al. 2018

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The ground flora stratum affects stand structure, resource acquisition, nutrient cycling, and taxonomic richness in forest ecosystems. Disturbances such as thinning and prescribed fire alter forest understory growing conditions that generally increase ground flora cover and richness. We studied annual changes in ground flora assemblages over three growing seasons after fire in thinned and frequently burned (3-year rotation) Pinus-Quercus stands. Our results corroborated trends from other studies that indicated greater ground flora richness and cover after thinning and burning compared with thin-only treatments. We also found that the stratum experienced relatively rapid succession between growing seasons that complimented the tolerance succession model. Forbs had reduced cover and richness from increasingly difficult growing conditions over time and were replaced by woody plants, shrubs, and seedlings. This likely occurred from changing competition dynamics that favored quick growth in the first growing season and long-term investment in vertical growth in the third growing season. The successful regeneration pathways also fit ground flora regeneration models and added a unique pathway to strengthen the predictive power of these models. As many stand management goals are focused towards improving biodiversity, prescribed fire and thinning may be used to increase understory richness in Pinus-Quercus stands.Résumé : La strate composée de la flore du sol influence la structure du peuplement, l'acquisition des ressources, le recyclage des nutriments et la richesse taxonomique dans les écosystèmes forestiers. Les perturbations, telles que l'éclaircie et le brûlage dirigé, modifient les conditions de croissance dans le sous-bois des forêts et augmentent généralement la richesse et le couvert de la flore du sol. Nous avons étudié les variations annuelles dans les assemblages de la flore du sol pendant trois saisons de croissance après feu dans des peuplements éclaircis et fréquemment brûlés (à tous les 3 ans) de pin et de chêne (Pinus et Quercus, respectivement). Nos résultats corroborent les tendances rapportées dans d'autres études indiquant que la richesse et le couvert de la flore du sol augmentent après une éclaircie et un brûlage comparativement à une éclaircie seule. Nous avons également trouvé que la strate connaissait une succession relativement rapide entre les saisons de croissance, ce qui va dans le sens du modèle de succession basé sur la tolérance. Le couvert et la richesse des plantes herbacées non graminoïdes ont diminué avec le temps à cause des conditions de croissance de plus en plus difficiles et elles étaient remplacées par des plantes ligneuses, des arbustes et des semis. Cela est survenu vraisemblablement à cause du changement dans la dynamique de la compétition qui a favorisé une croissance rapide durant la première saison de croissance et un investissement à long terme dans la croissance verticale durant la troisième saison de croissance. Les trajectoires qui favorisent la régénération correspon...

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Section: Ground Flora and Rapid Successionsupporting

confidence: 65%

Temporal patterns of ground flora response to fire in thinned Pinus–Quercus stands

et al. 2018

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“…Ground-layer responses often include an increase in species richness, but the magnitude seems to hinge on what species persist aboveground and in the seed bank during oftentimes extended fire-free intervals prior to management. Studies combining thinning and burning treatments over short to intermediate time frames (4 to 19 yr) have been carried out in southern Ohio (Iverson et al 2017), eastern Tennessee (Vander Yacht et al 2017), southern Michigan (Bassett et al 2020), and northern Illinois (Bowles et al 2017) with similar results but with accelerated responses in the overstory and ground layer due to more rapid canopy thinning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do early trends in oak barrens fire treatment predict later outcomes? Insights from three decades of vegetation monitoring

Taft

2020

fire ecol

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Background Vegetation structure, species diversity, and composition have been monitored at a fire-treatment and a fire-free control unit of a dry oak barrens and woodland complex in southern Illinois, USA, over a 29-year period and five burns. The restoration hypothesis is that fire management would result in different trends for vegetation parameters of conservation interest between fire treatment and control units, that before–after differences would be greater with fire management, and that early trends provide a reliable predictor for later outcomes. This study examines effectiveness of management in achieving restoration goals and uses response to the first two burns and monitoring results over the first seven years as an estimation period to test whether early trends with fire treatment are a reliable predictor for outcomes following three additional burns over the following 22 years. Results Trends differed between fire-treatment and control units for all parameters measured, and before–after differences were greater at the fire treatment unit. However, trends at the fire-treatment unit during the estimation period were a poor predictor of later outcomes. Tree density and basal area declined more than expected while ground-layer species density, richness, diversity, and percent cover did not keep pace with expectations of increase. Trends at the control unit were more predictable; however, tree basal area declined more than expected, possibly due to an outbreak of rapid white oak mortality disease, and decline of ground-layer species density was less than predicted from the early estimation period. Conclusions Results suggested that fire alone can be effective at restoring woodland and barrens natural areas and that a fire return interval of about every four years would be optimal for maintaining composition and diversity in this specific oak barrens habitat. However, burns followed immediately by severe drought possibly can have negative interactions, resulting in declines of ground-layer species diversity.

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Effects of experimental prescribed fire and tree thinning on oak savanna understory plant communities and ecosystem structure

Bassett

Landis

Brudvig

2020

Forest Ecology and Management

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Thinning effects on canopy structure and ground layer diversity in a burned mesic oak savanna

Cited by 6 publications

References 37 publications

Temporal patterns of ground flora response to fire in thinned Pinus–Quercus stands

Temporal patterns of ground flora response to fire in thinned Pinus–Quercus stands

Do early trends in oak barrens fire treatment predict later outcomes? Insights from three decades of vegetation monitoring

Effects of experimental prescribed fire and tree thinning on oak savanna understory plant communities and ecosystem structure

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