Pacific Northwest Research Station

Title: Season and severity of prescribed burn in ponderosa pine forests: implications for understory native and exotic plants.

Author: Kerns, Becky K.; Thies, Walter G.; Niwa, Christine G.

Date: 2006

Source: Ecoscience. Vol. 13(1): 44-55

Description: We investigated herbaceous richness and cover in relation to fire season and severity, and other variables, five growing seasons following prescribed fires. Data were collected from six stands consisting of three randomly applied treatments: no burn, spring burn, and fall burn. Fall burns had significantly more exotic/native annual/biennial (an/bi) species and greater cover of these species (6.5% exotic; 1.7% native) compared to spring and unburned areas. These patterns are likely related to indirect fire effects associated with fire severity and resource availability, rather than direct fire effects due to burn timing. CART models indicated that high native and exotic an/bi richness and cover were associated with overstory gaps and higher fire severity areas, conditions common to fall burns. Exotics may be more successful at exploiting these environments. No treatment differences were found for native perennials. Location was important for explaining native perennial patterns, but richness and cover were also positively associated with lower fire severity, greater tree cover, and coarse woody debris. Expectations for increased native perennial plant diversity and abundance following prescribed fires may not necessarily be met and exotic species spread may compromise other ecosystem attributes. Restoration in these forests presents a challenge as prescribed fires interact with present environmental conditions that are very different from historical ones.

Keywords: Bromus tectorum, CART, exotic species, forest understory, ponderosa pine, prescribed fire

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Citation

Kerns, Becky K.; Thies, Walter G.; Niwa, Christine G.  2006.  Season and severity of prescribed burn in ponderosa pine forests: implications for understory native and exotic plants..   Ecoscience. Vol. 13(1): 44-55.