The Effects of Burning on the Soil Lichen Community of a Sand Prairie

Abstract

The fate of lichen colonies in five 0.25-m2 quadrats was followed for 16 months after a spring fire on a sand prairie in order to determine the rate of recovery and any successional changes from the pre-fire community. By the end of the first season after the fire, colony area, living and dead, was reduced to 32.4% of the original cover. During the second season, the lichen com- munity continued to decline while grass/forb cover increased and moss cover remained the same, relative to an adjacent unburned area. By the end ofAugust of the second season, total lichen area, living and dead, was only 10.7% of the initial size, and Cladonia cariosa was the only species with a significant recovery, though a small new colony of Diploschistes scruposus had also formed. Fire is used extensively in the management of tall grass prairies. Periodic burning has been shown to assist in control of hardwood invasion and main- tenance of prairie diversity. Burning may also result in increased soil fertility due to nutrient release from standing dead plant material and accumulated litter (Ehrenreich & Aikman 1963; Wright & Bailey 1982). The effect of fire on lichens has been studied pri- marily in non-grassland communities, particularly tundra and boreal forest where soil lichens are im-