Surface burning in a mature stand of Pinus resinosa and Pinus strobus in Michigan: effects on understory vegetation

Abstract

Beginning in 1991, periodic surface fires (frontal fire intensities <200 kW m–1) were introduced into a mixed red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) and white pine (P. strobus L.) plantation (dbh 16–60 cm). Replicated plots of 0.4–0.5 ha were either burned three times at biennial intervals (early May of 1991, 1993, and 1995), burned once (early May 1991), or not burned. Measurements were conducted during the 1994 and 1995 growing seasons. The pine overstory was largely unaffected by the fires. The understory on unburned plots contained 16 111 large seedlings (>1 m, ≤ 1.9 cm dbh) and 3944 saplings (2.0–5.9 cm dbh) per ha, consisting of 23 woody angiosperm taxa. Plots burned once contained 60% of the large seedlings, 7% of the saplings, and 6 fewer taxa than unburned plots. No large seedlings and few saplings were found in plots burned biennially. Cover of low (<1 m) woody and herbaceous vegetation in plots burned once or three times was twice that of unburned plots, even in the growing season immediately following the May 1995 re-burn. Recovery of low vegetative cover in the re-burned plots was rapid, exceeding that in once-burned or unburned plots by late summer following the burn. Species richness of low vegetation was 20–25% higher in burned than unburned plots, except in the year immediately following reburning. Taxa dominating this site following burning were Sassafras albidum (Nutt.) Nees, Rubus spp., Phytolacca americana L., and Dryopteris spinulosa (O.F. MÜll.) Watt. Restoration of low-intensity surface fires to ecosystems dominated by mature red pine or white pine is feasible, but major changes in understory structure and composition will occur.

Biological Flora of the British Isles: Dryopteris carthusiana, D. dilatata and D. expansa

“…Although fire may kill the fronds of D. carthusiana and D. expansa , rhizomes of both species are able to survive single fire events (Ahlgren 1960; Neumann & Dickmann 2001). Investigation of the long‐term effects of fire on the boreal forest understory (Québec, Canada) has shown that D. carthusiana was generally more abundant in the earlier stages of post‐fire succession (De Grandpré, Gagnon & Bergeron 1993).…”

Spatial patterns of natural Pinus strobus L. regeneration in a Pinus resinosa Ait. stand1

“…The extent of this species was reduced by logging and fires fed by logging slash, eliminating seed sources and promoting early successional species (Weyenberg et al 2004). Further reductions have been linked to subsequent fire suppression policies, which precluded the frequent periodic ground fires (Neumann and Dickmann 2001) to which the species is well adapted by thick-bark (Van Wagner 1963, Frissell 1973, Johnson 1991, Beverly and Martell 2003 and tolerance of crown scorch (Methven 1971). Over the past 150 years, recruitment into the sapling layer has been poor for P. strobus (Carleton et al 1996).…”

Hazardous fuels management in mixed red pine and eastern white pine forest in the northern Lake States: A synthesis of knowledge

“…Chemical treatments and livestock grazing have been used as well, but are not as common across agencies. Incorporating fire into forest management can be a practical method since fire was formerly a naturally occurring process that helped maintain open forest conditions and lower loads of hazardous forest fuels (Drobyshev et al 2008b, Neumann andDickmann 2001). Although naturally ignited wildfires and prescribed fires are generally recognized as useful tools, they often have a high risk associated with their implementation (Yoder 2008).…”