Sericea Lespedeza Control from Growing-Season Prescribed Burning Causes No Collateral Damage to Non-Target Species

Abstract The predominant grazing management practice of the Kansas Flint Hills involves annual prescribed burning in March or April with post-fire grazing by yearling beef cattle at a high stocking density from April to August. There has been a dramatic increase in sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata [Dumont] G. Don) coincident with this temporally-focused use of prescribed fire in the Flint Hills region. The species is an aggressive invader and a statewide noxious weed in Kansas. Control has generally been attempted using repeated herbicide applications. This approach has not limited proliferation of sericea lespedeza and resulted in collateral damage to non-target flora and fauna. Alternative timing of prescribed fire has not been evaluated for its control. Our objectives for this 4-yr experiment were to (1) document the effects of prescribed burning during early April, early August, or early September on vigor of sericea lespedeza, standing forage biomass, and basal cover of native graminoids, forbs, and shrubs and (2) measure responses to fire regimes by grassland bird and butterfly communities. Whole-plant dry mass, basal cover, and seed production of sericea lespedeza were markedly less (P < 0.01) in areas treated with prescribed fire in August or September compared with April. Forage biomass did not differ (P ≥ 0.43) among treatments when measured during July; moreover, frequencies of bare soil, litter, and total basal plant cover were not different (P ≥ 0.29) among treatments. Combined basal covers of C4 grasses, C3 grasses, annual grasses, forbs, and shrubs also did not differ (P ≥ 0.11) between treatments. Densities of grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), dickcissel (Spiza americana), and eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna) were not negatively affected (P > 0.10) by mid-summer or late-summer fires relative to early-spring fires. There were no differences (P > 0.10) in densities of grassland-specialist butterfly species across fire regimes. Under the conditions of our experiment, prescribed burning during summer produced no detrimental effects on forage production, desirable non-target plant species, grassland birds, or butterfly communities but had strong suppressive effects on sericea lespedeza. Additional research is warranted to investigate how to best incorporate late-summer prescribed fire into common grazing-management practices in the Kansas Flint Hills.

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Shifts in morphological traits, seed production, and early establishment of Desmodium nudiflorum following prescribed fire, alone or in combination with forest canopy thinning

Botany ◽

10.1139/b08-006 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 86 (4) ◽

pp. 376-384 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jianjun Huang ◽

Ralph E.J. Boerner

Keyword(s):

Leaf Area ◽

Seed Production ◽

Prescribed Fire ◽

Forest Canopy ◽

Prescribed Burning ◽

Seed Mass ◽

Growing Season ◽

Total Biomass ◽

Mass Ratio ◽

Early Establishment

Reintroduction of periodic dormant-season fire and overstory thinning are currently being employed for forest ecosystem management in deciduous forests of eastern North America. These manipulations usually alter the flux of light and the availability of soil nutrients to the perennial herbaceous plants that dominate the understory. We utilized Bayesian statistical methods to examine the effects of prescribed burning (B) and the combination of burning and overstory thinning (T+B) on the morphology, seed production, and early establishment of Desmodium nudiflorum (L.) DC. (Fabaceae) in mixed-oak ( Quercus spp.) forests in southern Ohio. During the fourth growing season after the first fire, plants from thinned and burned (T+B) plots were 62% larger than plants from control plots (C). Both burning alone (B) and T+B treatments decreased specific leaf area (SLA). T+B also resulted in significantly decreased root mass ratio (RMR), and increased leaf mass ratio (LMR), and specific root length (SRL). During the first growing season after a second fire, both B and T+B resulted in significantly increased plant biomass, LMR, individual seed mass, and total seed production, as well as decreased SLA and plant height; in contrast, neither B nor T+B had significant impacts on leaf area ratio or seedling establishment. Prescribed fire, especially when combined with thinning, can result in increases in total biomass, seed size, and seed production, and hence enhance the fitness of this perennial herb in these mixed-oak forests.

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Predicting Pinus ponderosa Mortality From Dormant Season and Growing-Season Fire Injury

International Journal of Wildland Fire ◽

10.1071/wf9930065 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 65 ◽

Cited By ~ 59

Author(s):

MG Harrington

Keyword(s):

Pinus Ponderosa ◽

Ponderosa Pine ◽

Tree Mortality ◽

Prescribed Burning ◽

Growing Season ◽

Single Class ◽

Crown Scorch ◽

Large Trees ◽

Different Seasons ◽

Dormant Season

Understory prescribed burning was conducted in an immature Pinus ponderosa (ponderosa pine) stand in southwestern Colorado during three seasons, late spring, midsummer, and autumn. Tree mortality from various levels of crown scorch was compared for the different seasons of injury. A total of 526 trees of different sizes, with crown scorch ranging from 20 to 100%, were monitored annually for 10 years. Over 80% of the 10-year mortality from injury in all three seasons had occurred by year 3, with over 90% occurring by year 4. Mortality of trees scorched in the spring and summer was about 2.5 times greater than that in the autumn for similar crown damage. Most trees larger than 18 cm in diameter survived autumn injury, even with greater than 90% scorching. Following spring and summer injury, trees smaller than 10 cm in diameter died readily with greater than 50% scorching, but about 90% crown scorch was required by large trees to be lethal. A logistic regression model was developed to predict the probability of mortality given tree size, scorch class, and season of injury. Because mortality was similar within scorch classes less than 90%, they were combined into a single class. Scorch thresholds with large increases in mortality occurred at 90% and 100% crown scorch. The season variable includes two groups, dormant (autumn) and growing (spring and summer). Use of this model to predict mortality of immature P. ponderosa is appropriate where stand, fuel, and fire conditions resemble those of this study.

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Vegetative Responses to Prescribed Burning in a Mature Red Pine Stand

Northern Journal of Applied Forestry ◽

10.1093/njaf/13.3.140 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 140-146 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Sandra J. Henning ◽

Donald I. Dickmann

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Prescribed Burning ◽

Sandy Loam ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Growing Season ◽

Red Pine ◽

Black Cherry ◽

Percent Cover ◽

White Ash ◽

Total Species Richness

Abstract We investigated the effects of low-intensity, prescribed spring surface fires at varying intervals in a widely spaced, mature red pine plantation growing on a high quality sandy loam soil in northern Lower Michigan. Measurements of overstory characteristics, as well as the composition and development of the herbaceous and woody understory, were taken in unburned plots and during the seventh growing season following a single burn, the second growing season following the last of two burns at 5 yr intervals, and the growing season immediately following the last of four burns 2 yr intervals. Except for loss of a few trees due to crown scorch early in the study when fuel loadings were high, the red pine overstory was minimally affected by fires at any return interval. Compared to unburned plots, fire had no effect on total species richness or percent cover of ground flora < 1.4 m tall, but species composition shifted; cover of mosses and lichens declined and black cherry seedlings increased at the two shortest fire intervals. Although percent cover of grasses, bracken fern, and Rubus spp. appeared to increase following fire, the clumped distribution of vegetation and interplot variability in overstory density obscured the statistical significance of these trends. Species richness and density of stems in the woody understory (> 1.4 m tall but < 10 cm dbh) declined abruptly as burning interval decreased and number of burns increased. Fewer than two woody understory species, on the average, persisted on plots burned every 2 yr, whereas nearly 12 grew on unburned plots. Postburn conditions were conducive to the re-establishment of black cherry and paper birch in the understory; density of all other major species dropped sharply after more than one fire. As time after the last fire increased, however, red maple, choke cherry, and white ash densities began to recover slowly, largely by sprouting. The significance of these findings to red pine managers in the Lake States is discussed. North. J. Appl. For. 13(3):140-146.

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Liquid Hexazinone Application over Red Pine Seedlings

Northern Journal of Applied Forestry ◽

10.1093/njaf/5.1.61 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 61-64

Author(s):

Alvin A. Alm ◽

James M. Whorton

Keyword(s):

Growing Season ◽

Red Pine ◽

Delayed Response ◽

Target Species ◽

Competing Vegetation ◽

Time Of Application ◽

Pine Seedlings ◽

Lake States ◽

Forest Managers

Abstract Hexazinone is a commonly used herbicide for release of red pine in the Lake States from competing vegetation. The label is specific regarding time of application, recommended rate, and target species. Label recommendations were tested by using the herbicide on dates in April, May, and July at specified rates with broadcast band and spot applications over 3-0 red pine. Results show that exceeding label rates can damage red pine. Hexazinone satisfactorily controlled aspen, cherry, serviceberry, raspberry and various grasses, but was not effective for control of hazel species. Spraying too late in the growing season caused delayed response. These findings are applicable to forest managers in the Lake States and elsewhere who are establishing red pine or working with the control of similar vegetation. North. J. Appl. For. 5:61-64, March 1988.

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Getting back to fire suméŝ: exploring a multi-disciplinary approach to incorporating traditional knowledge into fuels treatments

Fire Ecology ◽

10.1186/s42408-019-0030-3 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Monique D. Wynecoop ◽

Penelope Morgan ◽

Eva K. Strand ◽

Fernando Sanchez Trigueros

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Traditional Knowledge ◽

Prescribed Burning ◽

Treatment Effectiveness ◽

Canopy Cover ◽

Growing Season ◽

Fire Monitoring ◽

The North ◽

Management Recommendations ◽

Fuels Treatments

Abstract Background Evaluating fuel treatment effectiveness is challenging when managing a landscape for diverse ecological, social, and economic values. We used a Participatory Geographic Information System (PGIS) to understand Confederated Colville Tribal (CCT) member views regarding the location and effectiveness of fuel treatments within their ancestral territory within the Colville National Forest (CNF) boundary. The 2015 North Star Fire burned 88 221 ha (218 000 acres) of the CCT ancestral territory. Results We sampled thirty plot pairs that were treated or untreated prior to being burned by the North Star Fire and again one growing season post fire. Species diversity was significantly increased by wildfire in both treated and untreated plots. Species richness was significantly increased in the plots that were treated, and there was no significant change in species richness from wildfire within the untreated plots. The percent canopy cover of two of the six culturally important plants (Fragaria spp. L. and Arnica cordifolia Hook.) significantly increased one growing season post wildfire within treated plots and one (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi [L.] Spreng.) significantly decreased in the treated plots post wildfire. These post-fire monitoring results were consistent with CCT member management recommendations and desired outcomes of understory thinning, prescribed fire, and natural ignition found using PGIS. Conclusions Together, the results suggest that prior thinning and prescribed burning can foster vegetation response to subsequent wildfires, including culturally important plants. Further, integrating Traditional Knowledge (TK) into fuels treatments can improve ongoing adaptive management of national forests that include tribal ancestral lands.

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Effect of site preparation on the nutrient content of non-crop vegetation in a jack pine clear-cut

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc73711-6 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 73 (6) ◽

pp. 711-714

Author(s):

Luc C. Duchesne ◽

Renée Tellier

Keyword(s):

Pinus Banksiana ◽

Prescribed Burning ◽

Biomass Accumulation ◽

Nutrient Content ◽

Growing Season ◽

Jack Pine ◽

Site Preparation ◽

Fire Intensity ◽

Clear Cut ◽

K Concentration

The nutrient (N, P, K, Mg, and Ca) content of the aboveground living non-crop vegetation of a jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) clear-cut in eastern Ontario was investigated for two years after site preparation, which consisted of prescribed burning under different fire intensities and disk trencher scarification. Total plant nutrient content generally followed biomass accumulation with higher levels of plant N, P, Ca, and K in clear-cuts and scarified sites than in burned-over sites. In the first growing season, concentrations of N, P, and K were higher in the vegetation of burned-over plots than in scarified and clear-cut plots. Mg concentrations were greater in burned-over and scarified plots than in the clear-cut plots. Ca concentrations did not differ among the treatments. Concentration of P and K and the total amount of N, P and K in aboveground non-crop vegetation were correlated well with fire intensity at the end of the first growing season whereas only K concentration and quantities were correlated to fire intensity within two years after treatment. Key words: prescribed burning; disk trenching scarification; fire; Pinus banksiana; nutrients

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