Effects of prescribed fire on planted oak growth and survival in restored savannas

IF 2.8 3区 环境科学与生态学 Q2 ECOLOGY
Allison G. Earl, J. Brian Towey, Scott J. Meiners
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Abstract

Most oak savannas in the Midwestern United States have been lost to agriculture and habitat degradation. Because of their rarity and high plant and animal diversity, savannas are often a target for restoration, which frequently relies on the direct planting of oak seedlings to establish the necessary canopy. Returning fire to the system is critical to the herbaceous component, but with planted seedlings, managers risk damaging or killing trees if burning is introduced too soon. We studied the growth and physiological responses of three oak species (Quercus alba, Quercus macrocarpa, and Quercus velutina) to prescribed fire to determine impacts on planted trees. This study utilized two restored oak savanna units that were planted in 1995 and 1998, each with burned and unburned areas. We tracked trees ranging from 0.9 to 29.8 cm in diameter at breast height (DBH) to determine the size threshold above which top kill is unlikely and documented differences in leaf structure and extension growth between the burned and unburned areas. There was no mortality observed. Moreover, no trees larger than 4 cm DBH were top killed by the fire. Fire responses in leaf mass per unit area and chlorophyll content were small and inconsistent across species. However, all oak species grew more in burned areas than trees in adjacent unburned areas. Therefore, the addition of low‐intensity prescribed fire to an oak savanna planting may increase the growth rate of planted trees with minimal risk of mortality once trees have reached sufficient size.
预设火灾对恢复热带稀树草原中人工种植橡树的生长和存活的影响
美国中西部的大部分橡树稀树草原已因农业和栖息地退化而消失。由于其稀有性和高度的动植物多样性,稀树草原通常是恢复的目标,而恢复通常依赖于直接种植橡树幼苗来建立必要的树冠。在系统中恢复燃烧对草本植物的生长至关重要,但对于种植的树苗,如果过早引入燃烧,管理者有可能损害或杀死树木。我们研究了三种橡树(Quercus alba、Quercus macrocarpa 和 Quercus velutina)的生长和生理反应,以确定对人工种植树木的影响。这项研究利用了 1995 年和 1998 年种植的两个橡树稀树草原恢复单元,每个单元都有燃烧区和未燃烧区。我们对胸径(DBH)在 0.9 厘米到 29.8 厘米之间的树木进行了跟踪,以确定在多大的阈值上不可能出现顶端死亡,并记录了燃烧区和未燃烧区在叶片结构和伸展生长方面的差异。没有观察到死亡现象。此外,没有一棵 DBH 大于 4 厘米的树木被大火烧死。火灾对单位面积叶片质量和叶绿素含量的影响较小,而且在不同物种之间不一致。不过,与邻近未燃烧区域的树木相比,所有栎树物种在燃烧区域的生长速度都更快。因此,在栎树稀树草原种植中添加低强度的规定火种,可以提高种植树木的生长速度,而且一旦树木达到足够的大小,死亡的风险也会降到最低。
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来源期刊
Restoration Ecology
Restoration Ecology 环境科学-生态学
CiteScore
6.50
自引率
15.60%
发文量
226
审稿时长
12-24 weeks
期刊介绍: Restoration Ecology fosters the exchange of ideas among the many disciplines involved with ecological restoration. Addressing global concerns and communicating them to the international research community and restoration practitioners, the journal is at the forefront of a vital new direction in science, ecology, and policy. Original papers describe experimental, observational, and theoretical studies on terrestrial, marine, and freshwater systems, and are considered without taxonomic bias. Contributions span the natural sciences, including ecological and biological aspects, as well as the restoration of soil, air and water when set in an ecological context; and the social sciences, including cultural, philosophical, political, educational, economic and historical aspects. Edited by a distinguished panel, the journal continues to be a major conduit for researchers to publish their findings in the fight to not only halt ecological damage, but also to ultimately reverse it.
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