Oak savanna vegetation response to layered restoration approaches: Thinning, burning, and grazing

Yantes, Austin M.; Reed, Samuel P.; Yang, Anna; Montgomery, Rebecca

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2023.120931

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 42 publications

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“…One of the best ways to cope with future climate change is to restore the fundamental processes inherent to oak ecosystems that bolster species richness and biodiversity (Iverson et al 2019;Johnson et al 2023;Harty 2023). Given the poor condition of current oak ecosystems, both structurally and compositionally, treatments will need to be a combination of thinning and (repeated) burning for optimal results (Albrecht and McCarthy 2006;Greenler and Saunders 2019;Vander Yacht et al 2019;Yantes et al 2023); the former to increase light levels to the forest floor and the latter to reduce fire-sensitive competitors presently dominating the understory. We suggest priority sites include those best suited for oak regeneration and restoration, specifically drier and/or infertile sites where the rate and steadfastness of succession are inherently curtailed (Nowacki and Abrams 2008;Iverson et al 2018).…”

Section: Pyrophilic Percentage Application In Land Management Planningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using witness trees as pyro-indicators to depict past fire environments across the eastern United States

Nowacki,

Thomas-Van Gundy

2024

fire ecol

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Understanding past fire environments is vitally important for applying silvicultural treatments, which often include prescribed burning to restore fire-dependent ecosystems. We have developed a novel method by which witness trees can be used as pyro-indicators to map past fire environments. The stepwise process first involves partitioning witness trees into two classes, pyrophobic and pyrophilic, based on their known ecophysiological traits. Pyrophilic percentages are then calculated at survey corners by dividing the number of pyrophilic trees by the total number of trees. Next, statistical spatial interpolation is applied to this point-based data set to produce a continuous response surface of pyrophilic percentages. The resultant maps capture gradients of fire importance across the pre-European-settlement landscape, which can be coupled with historic fire regime maps, thus providing additional information for better understanding and explaining past fire environments. We have applied this technique to various available witness-tree databases across the eastern United States. This paper serves as a compendium of our collective work to date.

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Section: Pyrophilic Percentage Application In Land Management Planningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using witness trees as pyro-indicators to depict past fire environments across the eastern United States

Nowacki,

Thomas-Van Gundy

2024

fire ecol

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Multiple disturbances, multiple legacies: Fire, canopy gaps and deer jointly change the forest seed bank

Reed,

Royo,

Carson

et al. 2024

Journal of Ecology

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Disturbance regimes, like low‐intensity fire, canopy gaps and ungulate browsing, play a critical role in determining ecological composition and structure in temperate forests around the world. Each disturbance (or lack thereof) can lead to unique plant communities, but we do not understand how combined disturbances change plant diversity and the resulting soil seed bank. Changes in the soil seed bank, which depend on the plants that survive post‐disturbance, can then influence future biodiversity and succession. We used a long‐term experiment in West Virginia, USA, that factorially manipulated low‐intensity fire, deer exclusion and canopy gaps. Thirteen years after disturbance initiation, we sampled the seed bank from each disturbance treatment. We found that low‐intensity fire led to increased seed bank density, with additional canopy gaps and deer exclusion each creating unique seed bank communities. Combined fire, canopy gaps and deer presence led to high seed bank diversity and the most unique seed communities, while canopy gaps and deer had no effect on seed banks unless the area was previously burned. In contrast, combined fire, canopy gaps and deer exclusion led to the lowest seed bank diversity of all treatments, reflecting the continued legacy of extant plants that grew immediately after disturbance. Seed communities were also distinct from extant understory species over 13 years, regardless of disturbance treatment. Each reintroduced disturbance combination left a unique legacy in the seed bank that will likely influence future forest reorganization following disturbances, adding to our understanding of how multiple disturbances influence forest succession and organization. Synthesis. Forest disturbance regimes have changed around the world and are being restored or manipulated to support biodiversity. Reintroduction of disturbance leads to unique plant communities, but we do not understand how combined disturbances change the soil seed bank. Using an experiment that manipulates low‐intensity fire, canopy gaps and deer exclusion, we find that combinations of these experimental treatments leads to substantially different seed communities. These disturbance‐altered seed banks will likely influence future biodiversity and successional patterns, highlighting how the restoration of disturbance can strongly and indirectly influence temperate forest community dynamics.

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Oak savanna vegetation response to layered restoration approaches: Thinning, burning, and grazing

Cited by 2 publications

References 42 publications

Using witness trees as pyro-indicators to depict past fire environments across the eastern United States

Using witness trees as pyro-indicators to depict past fire environments across the eastern United States

Multiple disturbances, multiple legacies: Fire, canopy gaps and deer jointly change the forest seed bank

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