Viewpoint: The Response of Central North American Prairies to Seasonal Fire

Engle, David M.; Bidwell, Terrence G.

doi:10.2307/4003519

Cited by 85 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…2). This disagrees somewhat with the findings of Knapp et al (1998), who indicated that aboveground net primary production (ANPP) of C 4 grasses in Tallgrass Prairie increased for 2-3 years postfire if water availability was adequate, but is more in line with studies in Africa with the C 4 grass, Themeda triandra (Everson et al 1985), and with several C 4 grasses in the Great Plains of the United States (Engle and Bidwell 2001), where quick (1997 and 1999), and during the entire study period (1993-1997 and 1999 1-2 y postfire (1993)(1994)(1995)(1996) 3 and 5 y postfire (1997,1999) 1-5 y postfire (1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)1999) Total Figure 6. Sideoats grama foliar cover in unclipped and clipped treatments within fire treatments.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

“…Several studies of summer fire in the Tallgrass Prairie of the United States found a decline in C 4 grass production during the first year after a summer fire but also found a recovery to preburn or unburned control levels by the second or third year (Engle et al 1998;Engle and Bidwell 2001). The slower recovery of sideoats grama at our mixed-grass prairie site following summer fire, compared with what is typically found in the Tallgrass Prairie (Engle and Bidwell 2001), is likely due to the greater aridity and variability in precipitation events at our study site compared with Tallgrass Prairie sites.…”

Section: (3) May 2006mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, there is concern that summer fires may have long-lasting, detrimental effects on C 4 grass production because those grasses are physiologically active during summer fires (Trollope 1984(Trollope , 1987Bailey 1988;Engle and Bidwell 2001). For example, in South Africa, Everson et al (1985) and Trollope (1987) indicated that recovery of C 4 Themeda triandra was significantly delayed by summer fire.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sideoats Grama Growth Responses to Seasonal Fires and Clipping

Ansley¹,

Castellano²,

Pinchak³

2006

REM

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There is increased interest in the use of summer-season fires to limit woody plant encroachment on southern prairie grasslands, but collateral effects of these fires on grasses are poorly understood. We quantified effects of repeated winter fires, repeated summer fires, simulated grazing (clipping), and their interaction on yields of the C 4 midgrass, sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula) in northern Texas. Monoculture patches of sideoats grama were exposed to 1 of 3 fire treatments: 1) no burn, 2) 2 winter fires in 3 years, or 3) 2 summer fires in 3 years; and to 1 of 2 clip treatments (no clip or clip once each spring). Total yield (live þ standing dead), live yield, percent live tissue, and foliar cover were measured in spring and late-growing season (late-season) over a 7-year period. In unclipped plots, late-season total yield did not fully recover until 2 growing seasons after winter fires and 3 growing seasons after summer fires. By 5 years postfire, total yield was greater in both fire treatments than in the no burn. Live yields recovered more quickly than total yields following summer fires but never exceeded the no burn. Percent live tissue was greater in both fire treatments than in the no burn for up to 2 years postfire. Clipping reduced total and live yields in the no burn and winter-fire treatments but not in the summer-fire treatment. By 5 years postfire, total and live yields were greater in the summer fire þ clip than the no burn þ clip or winter fire þ clip treatments. Results suggest that 1) sideoats grama is tolerant of summer fires but full recovery may require at least 3 years, and 2) in the long-term, summer fire þ clipping may stimulate sideoats grama production more than winter fire þ clipping or clipping alone. ResumenHay creciente interés de usar fuego en verano para limitar la expansió n de plantas leñ osas en los pastizales del sur, pero, los efectos colaterales de estos fuegos sobre los zacates son pobremente entendidos. En el norte de Texas, cuantificamos los efectos de fuegos repetidos en invierno, fuegos repetidos en verano, apacentamiento simulado (cortes) y sus interacciones en el rendimiento de zacate C4 ''Sideoats grama'' (Bouteloua curtipendula). Parches de monocultivo de ''Sideoats grama'' fueron expuestos a 1 de 3 tratamientos de fuego: 1) sin quema, 2) 2 fuegos en invierno en 3 añ os, y 3) 2 fuegos en verano en 3 añ os; y a 1 de 2 tratamientos de corte (sin corte y un corte cada primavera). El rendimiento de biomasa total (viva þ muerta), el rendimiento de biomasa viva, el porcentaje de tejido vivo y la cobertura foliar fueron medidos en primavera y al final de la estació n de crecimiento durante un periodo de 7 añ os. En las parcelas sin corte, el rendimiento de biomasa total a fines de la estació n se recuperó totalmente hasta 2 estaciones de crecimiento después de recibir los fuegos de invierno y hasta 3 estaciones después de recibir los de verano. Cinco añ os después del fuego, el rendimiento de biomasa total fue mayor en ambos tratamientos de fuego que en l...

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 56%

Section: (3) May 2006mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sideoats Grama Growth Responses to Seasonal Fires and Clipping

Ansley¹,

Castellano²,

Pinchak³

2006

REM

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“…It also indicates burning at different times of the year or at the same time in different years elicits unique responses in plant communities. No two fires are the same, including burns in the same season in different years, because of differences in conditions before and after burning, fuel quality, fuel water, arrangement of fuels, phenological and physiological status of plants, and weather (Towne and Owensby 1984;Howe 1995;Engle and Bidwell 2001). Subtle differences in microtopography and species composition among experimental plots may be involved as well.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Temporal changes in species composition in Fescue Prairie: relationships with burning history, time of burning, and environmental conditions

Gross

Romo

2009

Plant Ecol

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Historically, fires occurred throughout the year in the Fescue Prairie of Canada, but little is known about plant community responses to burning at different times of the year. Composition of plant communities was determined annually for 6 years after burning one or three times in a remnant Fescue Prairie in central Saskatchewan. A multiple-response permutation procedure indicated that plant community composition was different in the two burning histories (P \ 0.001) and among times of burning (P \ 0.001). Variables related to plant community composition after burning were evaluated using Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling. Three gradients explained 86% of the variation in composition of plant communities. Environmental conditions leading up to burning and at the time of burning correlated poorly with species composition. Differences in composition of plant communities were attributed primarily to burning history, cumulative precipitation in the 12 months before sampling, cumulative coldstress days in the 12 months before sampling, coldstress days in March and April, and months since burning. Plant communities burned once responded negatively to increasing cold-stress days while those burned three times responded positively to cold-stress days. Cover of Festuca hallii and Symphoricarpos occidentalis was 88 and 350% greater after one burn as compared to three burns, whereas cover of Carex obtusata, Carex pensylvanica, and Elymus lanceolatus was 126, 53, and 220% greater after three burns than after one burn. Festuca hallii, Galium boreale, Pulsatilla patens ssp. multifida, Symphoricarpos occidentalis, and Symphyotrichum ericoides had the highest indicator value of a single burn; Carex obtusata, Elymus lanceolatus, and Koeleria macrantha had the greatest indicator values for sites burned three times. Longer-term effects of burning history exert a strong influence on plant community composition while short-term conditions after burning, namely, precipitation and cold-stress days, appear important in controlling species responses and composition of plant communities in Fescue Prairie.

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“…However, the landscape and its natural processes have been dramatically altered during the past century, precipitating the need for restoration. Wildfire is suppressed, and prescribed fires occur primarily in the spring [25]. Free-roaming bison were extirpated more than a century ago, vast wet prairies drained, and row-crop agriculture established as the dominant land use.…”

Section: Landscape Context and Natural Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

Talking Big: Lessons Learned from a 9000 Hectare Restoration in the Northern Tallgrass Prairie

et al. 2012

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Large tracts (>1000 ha) of prairie are essential to the sustainability of grassland ecosystem services, yet in many ecoregions only small fragments remain. Glacial Ridge is among the largest prairie-wetland restorations ever attempted. Started in 2000, the 9000 ha project in northwest Minnesota, USA, was initiated to reconnect 14 small tallgrass prairie remnants. In all, 15,200 ha of contiguous habitat comprise the project's direct accomplishment. We created a partnership of more than 30 organizations, filled 177 km of drainage ditch, restored 1240 ha of wetland, and replanted 8100 ha. Flooding has been mitigated, water quality improved, and native vegetation reestablished. Animals not documented for decades have again occupied the site. Despite these accomplishments, the project would have been unnecessary if the land had been purchased in the 1970s, prior to conversion to agriculture, at one-tenth the restoration cost. Our challenges related to funding, differences in partners' restoration philosophy, community concerns about floods and tax losses, difficulties in obtaining seed, and follow-up management of invasive weeds. We summarize the restoration process and share basic principles that will help others to develop large-scale prairie restoration projects in the future. OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2012, 4 3067

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Viewpoint: The Response of Central North American Prairies to Seasonal Fire

Cited by 85 publications

References 41 publications

Sideoats Grama Growth Responses to Seasonal Fires and Clipping

Sideoats Grama Growth Responses to Seasonal Fires and Clipping

Temporal changes in species composition in Fescue Prairie: relationships with burning history, time of burning, and environmental conditions

Talking Big: Lessons Learned from a 9000 Hectare Restoration in the Northern Tallgrass Prairie

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