Abstract
An experiment is reported in which the effects of fire (heat, litter removal, nutrient redistribution) were separated by a combination of burning and clipping treatments in a limestone grassland community dominated by the tussock grasses Festuca ovina L. and Helictorichon pratense (L.) Pilger and with a light covering of litter. Burning, but not clipping, stimulated the production of inflorescenses of H. pratense and killed many plants of F. ovina. Denudation, whether caused by burning or clipping (with or without the return of plant ash), resulted in hig her soil temperatures and increased frequency of annual and biennial species. Soil moisture tensions were not affected by the treatments. No effects of fire could be attributed to the deposition of ash. The result of the experiment are compared with studies of fire in prairie and other grassland communities.
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