Effects of Repeated Growing Season Prescribed Fire on the Structure and Composition of Pine–Hardwood Forests in the Southeastern Piedmont, USA
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- (1)
- How do the density and composition of saplings in the midstory change following repeated growing season burns?
- (2)
- How do the structure (i.e., basal area, density, and quadratic mean diameter) and composition of overstory trees change following repeated growing season burns?
- (3)
- How do the effects of repeated growing season burns on overstory and midstory structure and composition differ when fires are applied at different times within the growing season?
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Site
2.2. Study Design
2.3. Field Sampling
2.4. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Saplings
3.2. Overstory Trees
4. Discussion
4.1. Effects on Midstory Saplings
4.2. Effects on Overstory Trees
4.3. Timing of Growing Season Burn
4.4. Management Considerations
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Block | Late Spring (4/1 to 5/12) | Early Summer (5/13 to 6/25) | Mid Summer (6/26 to 8/6) | Late Summer (8/7 to 9/18) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Block 1 | 1998 | 4/2, 4/27 | 5/13, 6/9 | 7/29, 7/29 | 8/24, 9/9 |
2000 | 4/5, 4/26 | 7/261 | 7/26 | ||
2001 | 6/7 | 7/12 | 9/18, 9/18 | ||
2002 | 4/16, 5/7 | 5/15, 6/5 | 8/1 | ||
2003 | 6/26 | 9/10 | |||
2004 | 4/15, 4/29 | 5/24 | 8/4 | ||
Block 2 | 1998 | 4/2, 4/27 | 5/13, 6/8 | 7/21, 7/21 | 8/11, 9/8 |
2000 | 4/5, 4/26 | 7/251 | 7/25 | ||
2001 | 6/6 | 7/12 | 9/18, 9/18 | ||
2002 | 4/16, 5/7 | 5/15, 6/5 | 8/1 | ||
2003 | 6/26 | 9/10, 9/10 | |||
2004 | 4/19, 4/29 | 5/24 | 8/4 | ||
Block 3 | 1998 | 4/2, 4/25 | 5/13, 6/8 | 7/22, 8/4 | 8/24, 9/8 |
2000 | 4/16, 5/8 | 5/15 | 7/23 | ||
2001 | 6/5 | 7/9 | 9/17, 9/17 | ||
2002 | 4/16, 5/8 | 5/15, 6/4 | 8/1 | ||
2003 | 6/26 | 8/28, 8/28 | |||
2004 | 4/19, 4/29 | 5/24 | 8/4 |
Sapling Density | Time (df = 2) | Block (df = 2) | Time*Block (df = 4) | Win (df = 3) | Time*Win (df = 6) | Block*Win (df = 6) | Time*Block*Win (df = 12) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All | F = 49.5 GG = 0.0000* | F = 4.44 p = 0.036* | F = 1.9 GG = 0.152 | F = 1.82 p = 0.197 | F = 1.04 GG = 0.423 | F = 1.53 p = 0.49 | F = 2.63 GG = 0.021* |
Pine | F = 7.00 GG = 0.021* | F = 7.81 p = 0.0067* | F = 5.16 GG = 0.024* | F = 2.15 p = 0.147 | F = 1.81 GG = 0.198 | F = 2.68 p = 0.069 | F = 2.32 GG = 0.038* |
Oak Hickory | F = 3.1 GG = 0.1 | F = 8.73 p = 0.005* | F = 1.75 GG = 0.2 | F = 1.88 p = 0.19 | F = 0.70 GG = 0.59 | F = 1.77 p = 0.19 | F = 0.95 GG = 0.5 |
Mesic Hardwood | F = 36.35 p = 0.0000* | F = 6.25 p = 0.014* | F = 2.67 p = 0.06 | F = 2.32 p = 0.13 | F = 2.02 p = 0.1 | F = 1.56 p = 0.24 | F = 1.62 p = 0.15 |
Structure/Composition | Time (df = 1) | Block (df = 2) | Time*Block (df = 2) | Win (df = 3) | Time*Win (df = 3) | Block*Win (df = 6) | Time*Block*Win (df = 6) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basal Area | F = 0.57 p = 0.46 | F = 4.06 p = 0.05* | F = 0.1 p = 0.9 | F = 1.07 p = 0.4 | F = 0.77 p = 0.53 | F = 0.71 p = 0.65 | F = 0.45 p = 0.83 |
PineBasal Area | F = 0.32 p = 0.58 | F = 1.16 p = 0.35 | F = 0.24 p = 0.79 | F = 1.00 p = 0.43 | F = 0.27 p = 0.84 | F = 0.21 p = 0.97 | F = 0.56 p = 0.76 |
Oak-Hickory Basal Area | F = 0.28 p = 0.61 | F = 0.93 p = 0.42 | F = 1.05 p = 0.38 | F = 1.43 p = 0.28 | F = 0.63 p = 0.61 | F = 0.98 p = 0.48 | F = 2.13 p = 0.12 |
Mesic Hardwood Basal Area | F = 3.01 p = 0.36 | F = 5.54 p = 0.02* | F = 0.54 p = 0.6 | F = 1.81 p = 0.2 | F = 3.44 p = 0.05* | F = 4.54 p = 0.013* | F = 0.42 p = 0.85 |
Density | F = 6.45 p = 0.03* | F = 4.47 p = 0.04* | F = 0.29 p = 0.76 | F = 1.79 p = 0.20 | F = 0.43 p = 0.73 | F = 0.64 p = 0.70 | F = 0.72 p = 0.64 |
Pine Density | F = 8.72 p = 0.012* | F = 0.96 p = 0.41 | F = 1.12 p = 0.36 | F = 1.36 p = 0.30 | F = 0.81 p = 0.51 | F = 0.36 p = 0.89 | F = 1.02 p = 0.46 |
Oak-Hickory Density | F = 0.05 p = 0.82 | F = 1.22 p = 0.33 | F = 1.32 p = 0.30 | F = 1.65 p = 0.23 | F = 0.05 p = 0.98 | F = 0.64 p = 0.69 | F = 1.11 p = 0.41 |
Mesic Hardwood Density | F = 2.25 p = 0.16 | F = 4.79 p = 0.03* | F = 0.06 p = 0.94 | F = 2.84 p = 0.08 | F = 2.46 p = 0.11 | F = 3.47 p = 0.03* | F = 1.22 p = 0.36 |
QMD | F = 24.02 p < 0.001* | F = 0.70 p = 0.52 | F = 0.92 p = 0.43 | F = 0.41 p = 0.75 | F = 0.51 p = 0.68 | F = 0.40 p = 0.87 | F = 0.55 p = 0.76 |
Pine QMD | F = 36.1 p < 0.001* | F = 0.50 p = 0.62 | F = 1.72 p = 0.22 | F = 0.45 p = 0.72 | F = 0.37 p = 0.78 | F = 0.36 p = 0.89 | F = 0.47 p = 0.82 |
Oak-Hickory QMD | F = 0.06 p = 0.82 | F = 3.13 p = 0.08 | F = 0.04 p = 0.96 | F = 1.56 p = 0.25 | F = 1.39 p = 0.29 | F = 0.78 p = 0.60 | F = 3.81 p = 0.023* |
Mesic Hardwood QMD | F = 3.13 p = 0.102 | F = 5.57 p = 0.02* | F = 0.01 p = 0.99 | F = 31.9 p < 0.001* | F = 0.33 p = 0.80 | F = 27.71 p < 0.001* | F = 0.47 p = 0.82 |
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Reilly, M.J.; Outcalt, K.; O’Brien, J.J.; Wade, D. Effects of Repeated Growing Season Prescribed Fire on the Structure and Composition of Pine–Hardwood Forests in the Southeastern Piedmont, USA. Forests 2017, 8, 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/f8010008
Reilly MJ, Outcalt K, O’Brien JJ, Wade D. Effects of Repeated Growing Season Prescribed Fire on the Structure and Composition of Pine–Hardwood Forests in the Southeastern Piedmont, USA. Forests. 2017; 8(1):8. https://doi.org/10.3390/f8010008
Chicago/Turabian StyleReilly, Matthew J., Kenneth Outcalt, Joseph J. O’Brien, and Dale Wade. 2017. "Effects of Repeated Growing Season Prescribed Fire on the Structure and Composition of Pine–Hardwood Forests in the Southeastern Piedmont, USA" Forests 8, no. 1: 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/f8010008