Responses of root‐crown bearing shrubs to differences in fire regimes in Pinus palustris (longleaf pine) savannas: Exploring old‐growth questions in second‐growth systems

2006 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul B. Drewa ◽  
Jarrod M. Thaxton ◽  
William J. Platt
2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 928-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph J Hendricks ◽  
Carlos A Wilson ◽  
Lindsay R Boring

Foliar litter position and decomposition were assessed in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) - wiregrass (Aristida beyrichiana Trin. & Rupr.) woodlands during a 3-year burn interval. Position assessments revealed 57.7 and 67.4% of foliar litter was elevated in wiregrass crowns 1 and 2 years, respectively, following burning. Decomposition assessments revealed soil-surface mass loss decay constants (range 0.097–0.282) similar to those measured in comparable pine forests. However, elevated longleaf pine and wiregrass litter exhibited decay constants (0.052 and 0.074, respectively) 50% lower than corresponding soil-surface rates and among the lowest values in the literature. With the exception of wiregrass, which did not exhibit an immobilization of the nutrients (N, P, Ca, K, and Mg) assessed, foliar litter exhibited either extensive P immobilization with minimal N immobilization or minimal, short-lived immobilization of N, P, or both N and P. The percentage of original N and P remaining after 3 years varied widely among the soil surface (N range 6.3–56.3%; P range 3.4–204.7%) and elevated (N range 76.8–94.9%; P range 52.0–99.2%) litter. These results suggest that fire regimes typically employed in longleaf pine – wiregrass woodlands may balance N losses via volatilization with P limitations via litter immobilization.


2016 ◽  
Vol 364 ◽  
pp. 154-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darcy H. Hammond ◽  
J. Morgan Varner ◽  
Zhaofei Fan ◽  
John S. Kush

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
José Infante ◽  
Fernando J. Novoa ◽  
José Tomás Ibarra ◽  
Don J. Melnick ◽  
Kevin L. Griffin ◽  
...  

AbstractWildfire regimes are being altered in ecosystems worldwide. The density of reptiles responds to fires and changes to habitat structure. Some of the most vulnerable ecosystems to human-increased fire frequency are old-growth Araucaria araucana forests of the southern Andes. We investigated the effects of wildfires on the density and richness of a lizard community in these ecosystems, considering fire frequency and elapsed time since last fire. During the 2018/2019 southern summer season, we conducted 71 distance sampling transects to detect lizards in Araucaria forests of Chile in four fire “treatments”: (1) unburned control, (2) long-term recovery, (3) short-term recovery, and (4) burned twice. We detected 713 lizards from 7 species. We found that the density and richness of lizards are impacted by wildfire frequency and time of recovery, mediated by the modification of habitat structure. The lizard community varied from a dominant arboreal species (L. pictus) in unburned and long-recovered stands, to a combination of ground-dwelling species (L. lemniscatus and L. araucaniensis) in areas affected by two fires. Araucaria forests provided key habitat features to forest reptiles after fires, but the persistence of these old-growth forests and associated biodiversity may be threatened given the increase in fire frequency.


2000 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Haywood ◽  
Harold E. Grelen

Abstract Prescribed burning treatments were applied over a 20 yr period in a completely randomized field study to determine the effects of various fire regimes on vegetation in a direct seeded stand of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.). Seeding was done in November 1968. The study area was broadcast-burned about 16 months after seeding. The initial research treatments were applied in 1973, and as many as 12 research burns were applied through 1993. Pines were measured in March 1995. Prescribed burning resulted in a greater stocking of longleaf pine (an average of 598 trees/ac) on treated plots than on unburned plots (30 trees/ac). However, on the burned treatments, longleaf pines were significantly smaller (2.5 ft3/tree of stemwood) than were the unburned trees (3.7ft3/tree of stemwood). Half of the treated plots were burned in early March, and the other half were burned in early May. Seasons of burning did not significantly influence longleaf pine stocking. However, use of fire in May resulted in significantly greater basal area (100 ft2/ac) and stemwood production (1,921 ft3/ac) than burning in March (59 ft2/ac and 909 ft3/ac). Fire effectively kept natural loblolly pine (P. taeda L.) seedlings from reaching sapling size, but loblolly saplings and poles dominated the unburned plots (710 trees/ac). When all pines were considered on all treatments, stocking ranged from 467 to 740 trees/ac, but stocking was not significantly different among treatments. The unburned plots had significantly greater total basal area (149 ft2/ac) and stemwood productivity (2,918 ft3/ac) than the burned treatments (82 ft2/ac and 1,459 ft3 /ac). Likewise, hardwoods that were at least 1 in. dbh were more common on unburned p lots (327 stems/ac) than on burned treatments (58 stems/ac). South. J. Appl. For. 24(2):86-92.


2009 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saskia L. Van De Gevel ◽  
Justin L. Hart ◽  
Henri D. Grissino-Mayer ◽  
Kenneth W. Robinson

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank S. Gilliam ◽  
Heather N. Patten ◽  
Sarah K. Rabinowitz

Abstract The campus of the University of West Florida was constructed among second-growth longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) stands that survived extensive logging in the Florida Panhandle. Previous studies on longleaf pine on the main UWF campus have estimated that 65% of these pines are 75 to 125 years old, with estimates based on a model from old-growth longleaf in southern Georgia. To obtain more accurate age data, one can use an increment corer to collect samples from live trees on site; more accurately, disks can be collected from recently fallen trees. On 16 September 2020, Hurricane Sally impacted UWF as a Category 2 storm, with winds reaching 125 kph. Our study took advantage of longleaf pines blowdowns by Sally to obtain cross-sections for age determinations. Two on-campus natural areas were chosen for sampling: the Edward Ball Nature Trail and the Baars-Firestone Wildlife Sanctuary. For each sampled section, diameter at breast height (DBH) and number of annual rings were recorded. Based on a total of 50 sampled trees, linear regression revealed a highly significant (P<0.00001; r2 =0.84) relationship between DBH and age. Applying this to DBH measures of 2,165 stems on the main campus indicates that the oldest longleaf pines are ~130 years old (mean age = 63.9±0.4 yr), consistent with cessation of historically wide-spread harvesting in the region. Mean age for the Trails site (55.7±1.6 yr) was significantly lower than that of the Sanctuary (66.7±2.0 yr), suggesting that they represented sites of contrasting land-use history. Direction of stem windthrows did not vary between natural areas and was consistent with characteristics of the eyewall of Hurricane Sally with strongest wind gusts moving from a southeast to northwest direction.


2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Steen ◽  
Lora L. Smith ◽  
Gail Morris ◽  
L. Mike Conner ◽  
Andrea R. Litt ◽  
...  

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