Clear-Cuts Are Not Clean Slates: Residual Vegetation Impediments to Savanna Restoration

Abstract

ABSTRACT In response to widespread losses of savanna ecosystems worldwide, many restoration efforts are underway. For savannas degraded by fire suppression and hardwood invasion, a first step towards restoration typically involves removal of unwanted trees and shrubs, but after invasive nonnative woody plants are top-killed, savanna restoration is often impeded by their resprouts. To evaluate patterns of vegetative recovery following clear-cuts and to explore their implications for ecosystem restoration, we determined the origins of the vegetation that develops after a clear-cut in hardwood-invaded sites being restored to pine savanna in Florida. We excavated stumps and other sprout sources, characterized the soil seed bank, and estimated seed production by early-to-mature species during the first growing season after treatment. In twenty 100-m2 plots, there was approximately one source of woody plant sprouts per square meter. Root sprouts were more abundant than sprouted stumps, and most of the stumps t...