Prescribed Burning Research Articles

The decline, response to fire, status and management of the Eastern Bristlebird

The Eastern Bristlebird Dasyornis brachypterus is a threatened passerine, endemic to southeastern Australia. It is a cryptic, ground dwelling, semi-flightless inhabitant of dense, fire-prone vegetation and is usually only detected by its calls. The disjunct distribution suggests that they were once more numerous and their population continuous from southern Queensland to western Victoria. Their decline has been documented in historic and recent times. Habitat loss, nest desertion and fire have been implicated in the decline and extinction of local populations. Strongholds for the species are Barren Grounds Nature Reserve and Bherwerre Peninsula, 100 and 150 km south of Sydney respectively. At Barren Grounds, in the absence of recent fire, there were significant increases in the population between 1992 and 1996. There was a trend of increasing Eastern Bristlebird density with increasing fire-age of habitat and average density plateauing at two birds per 5 ha, 10 years after fire. At Nadgee, a coastal Nature Reserve on the New South Wales/Victorian border, the population appears to be recovering very slowly from severe wildfires in 1972 and 1980. At the beginning of 1996 there were less than 2 000 individual Eastern Bristlebirds occupying an area of approximately 100 km2. For the management of Eastern Bristlebirds, habitat manipulation using prescribed fire should not be undertaken unless site-specific population monitoring data demonstrate that it would be beneficial. Concentrations of Eastern Bristlebirds and potential fire refuges should be protected from unplanned fire. For prescription burns, potential escape routes need to be planned for Eastern Bristlebirds. The threatened status should be changed from Vulnerable to Endangered.

Biological control of weeds and fire management in protected natural areas: Are they compatible strategies?

Biological control of weeds has been traditionally associated with pastoral or cultivated land-use systems. Recently though, there has been increasing discussion of the possibility of biological control of weeds that have invaded national parks and native forests. However, a completely different set of management strategies applies in such land-use systems, the aims of which may conflict with those of classical biological control. In Australia, one such practice is the use of regular prescription burning to control the incidence and severity of wild fires. This paper reports data collected between 1981 and 1987 on an infestation of St John's wort Hypericum perforatum, and its biological control agent, Chrysolina quadrigemina, in eucalypt forest that was burnt twice during the study period. The fires both promoted development of the weed population and retarded that of the control agent. However, a subsequent indirect effect of fire was to favour population build-ups of C. quadrigemina and a recently released agent, Aphis chloris, through increased plant nutrient levels. This indicates that the compatibility of biological control with existing management strategies must be considered when it is proposed as an option for the control of invasive weeds in protected natural areas.

Understory prescribed burning in red pine and white pine

The alarming loss of forested areas containing red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) and eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) in eastern Canada is a situation that must be addressed promptly by changing management approaches. Since the ecological role of fire in the regeneration and perpetuation of these pines is well known, it makes sense to use fire to maintain pine ecosystems through forest management that uses an understory prescribed burn program. Fears of fire escape and a poor knowledge of applying fire correctly to these ecosystems are the result of poor training in the use of prescribed fire, which normally concentrates solely on post-harvest slash sites; this has prevented extensive use of understory prescribed burning in the past. However, research in Canada, principally using the Canadian Forest Fire Behavior Prediction (FBP) System coupled with the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index (FWI) System, allows forest managers to develop burning prescriptions that are safe and economical while meeting objectives for seedbed preparation, natural seeding and control of competing vegetation. Key words: crown scorching, eastern white pine, fire, natural regeneration, red pine, seedbed preparation, understory prescribed burning, vegetation control.

Microbial biomass and activity in the humus layer following burning: short-term effects of two different fires

During a 3-year study, soil microbial biomass C and N, length of the fungal hyphae, soil respiration, and the percent mass loss of needle litter were recorded in coniferous forest soil humus layers following a prescribed burning (PB) treatment or a forest fire simulation (FF) treatment (five plots per treatment). Unburned humus from adjacent plots served as controls (PC and FC, respectively). Prescribed burning was more intensive than the forest fire, and this was reflected in all the measurements taken. The amounts of microbial biomass C and N, length of fungal hyphae, and soil respiration in the PB area did not recover to their controls levels, whereas unchanged microbial biomass N and recovery of the length of the fungal hyphae to control levels were observed in the FF area. The mean microbial C/N ratio was approximately 7 in all the areas, which reflected the C/N ratio of the soil microbial community. Deviation from this mean value, as observed during the first three samplings from the PB area (3, 18, and 35 days after fire treatment), suggested a change in the composition of the microbial community. Of the two treated areas, the decrease in soil respiration (laboratory measurements) was much more pronounced in the PB area. However, when the humus samples from both areas were adjusted to 60% water holding capacity, no differences in respiration capacity were observed. The drier humus, due to higher soil temperatures, of the PB area is a likely explanation for the low soil respiration. Lower soil respiration was not reflected in lower litter decomposition rates of the PB area, since there was a significantly higher needle litter mass loss during the first year in the PB area followed by a decline to the control level during the second year. Consistently higher mass losses were recorded in the FC area than in the FF area.

Responses of Ground-Foraging Ant Communities to Three Experimental Fire Regimes in a Savanna Forest of Tropical Australia

Ants were sampled using pitfali traps in two replicate 1 ha plots of each of three experimental fire treatments (annually burned, biennially burned, and unburned for over 14 years) in a eucalypt-dominated savanna of tropical northern Australia. The ant fauna was extremely diverse, with 81 species from 24 genera recorded. Species were classified into functional groups based on habitat requirements and competitive interactions, with the most important groups being dominant species of Iridomyrmex (11 species, 14-63% total ants in traps); generalized myrmicines (mostly species of Monomorium and Pheidole; total of 22 species, 1 1-61% total ants in traps); hot climate specialists (species of Melophorus, Monomorium (Chelaner) and Meranoplus; total of 14 species, 1-16% total ants in traps); cryptic species (many genera; total of 13 species, 2-27% total ants in traps); and, opportunists (mostly species of Rhytidoponera and Tetramorium; total of 11 species, 3-12% total ants in traps). Ant communities in the annually burned plots were characterized by relatively high numbers of dominant Iridomyrmex, hot climate specialists and opportunistic Rhytidoponera aurata, and low numbers of generalized myrimicines and cryptic species. The reverse was true for unburned plots. Many species were common under one fire regime, but were rarely or never recorded under the other. These differences were attributed to structural changes in the habitat caused by fire, and in particular to the levels of litter accumulation and insolation on the ground. These changes influenced ants directly, but also had important indirect effects through their influence on the abundance of dominant Iridomyrmex, and therefore on competitive interactions. The ant communities in the biennially burned plots were generally intermediate to those of the unburned and annually burned plots. However, one was more similar to those in the annualiy burned plots, while the other resembled those in the unburned plots. These results demonstrate that different fire regimes have a major influence on one of the most important faunal groups in tropical savannas, and this has important implications for conservation management in these ecosystems. FIRE IS AN IMPORTANT LAND MANAGEMENT TOOL in many ecosystems throughout the world (Naveh 1975, Gill 1977, Hobbs & Gimingham 1987, Moore 1987), but especially in tropical savannas (Gillon 1983, Murphy & Lugo 1986, Stott 1986), where fires are often annual and lit almost exclusively by humans (Braithwaite & Estbergs 1985, Gillon 1983). Studies of the effects of fire in tropical savannas have largely focused on the responses of grasses (Stocker & Mott 1981, Gillon 1983) and, to a lesser extent, woody plants (Miyanishi & Kellman 1986, Stark 1986), with little attention paid to the fauna. Indeed, some recent reviews of the ecological effects of fire in tropical savannas ignore the fauna completely (Coutinho 1982, Lacey et al. 1982, Sarmiento 1984). Moreover, most faunal studies have been concerned with responses to single fires (Gillon 1983, Gandar 1982, Frost 1985), rather than to different fire regimes. This lack of information on the influence of different fire regimes on faunas makes it difficult for managers of tropical savannas to devise appropriate fire management plans, especially in areas like national parks where conservation is the prime management objective. Here I report on the effects of three experimental fire regimes on communities of ground-foraging ants in a forested savanna in Kakadu National Park, in tropical northern Australia. Ants are a dominant faunal group in most tropical savannas (Levieux 1983), but are particularly abundant and diverse in those of northern Australia, where more than 100 species can occur within 500 m2 (Andersen, in press a, b). Kakadu savannas have been burned by aboriginal people for at least 20,000 years (Jones 1969, Haynes 1985, Kershaw 1985), but details of the frequency, timing, and extent of their burning are poorly understood (see Horton 1982). The contemporary fire regime is one of dry season burning at least once every three years, and, typically, annually (Braithwaite & Estbergs 1985, Day 1985). The fires include both prescription burns by management authorities, which usually occur early during the dry season (May/June) and are often relatively low in intensity and small in area, and unprescribed burns lit by the public, which tend to I Received 16 May 1990, revision accepted 13 January 1991.

Nutrient sequestering by the understorey strata of natural Pinus caribaea stands subject to prescription burning

The capacity of understorey shrub and graminoid strata to conserve Ca, Mg, K and P by rapidly resprouting after fires was examined in prescription-burned stands of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis Morelet growing on infertile savanna soils in Belize, Central america. Vegetative resprouting by both strata was vigorous and resulted in above-ground biomass accumulations, after 1 year, of approximately 800 and 1500 kg ha −1 for shrubs and graminoids, respectively. Thereafter, accumulation was slower and consisted mainly of stemwood in shrubs and standing dead material in grasses and sedges. After 5 years, total above-ground mass accumulation in shrubs and graminoids was approximately 2400 and 3400 kg ha −1, respectively. Despite this difference in mass, higher nutrient concentrations in shrub tissues resulted in larger nutrient accumulations in this stratum than in graminoids for all elements except P, which showed a large accumulation in this standing dead tissues of grasses and sedges. Accumulation in either layer represented a significant proportion of the total system storages and fluxes. However, because of the generally larger accumulation of nutrients in the shrub layer, and the resistance of its tissues to ignition during fire, we conclude that this stratum should be preferred for nutrient conservation when this ecosystem is managed.

Factors Affecting the Timing of Grassland Regrowth after Fire in the Montane Grasslands of Natal

SYNOPSIS Recent research has indicated that burning Highland Sourveld once growth has been initiated increases grass tiller mortality. Present burning prescriptions could therefore be improved by an insight into the factors controlling the initiation of grass growth in spring. It was hypothesised in this study that early rainfall stimulated early growth in spring. The results indicated, however, that soil moisture was always freely available, even after a long period of drought. There was no correlation between growth and soil moisture, whereas high correlations were found between growth and soil temperature and growth and air temperature. It is concluded that soil temperature is the limiting factor in initiating grass growth in spring in the Natal Drakensberg.

Effect of Prescribed Burning on Placement of Sage Sparrow Nests

Les brulis effectues sur des formations a Artemisia modifie le choix de l'habitat pour la construction du nid Amphispiza belli

Response of Sitanion hystrix (Nutt.) J. G. to Prescribed Burning

This study reports the response of Sitanion hystrix (Nutt.) J. G. to a midsummer controlled burn. Vegetative, reproductive and physiological attributes of control and burned plants were evaluated in the year following treatment using yield per unit of active crown area. Burned plants responded positively to fire for all parameters measured; (1) shoot biomass-.52 vs. .09 g.cm-2 (burn vs. control); (2) root biomass-.36 vs. .24 g cm-2; (3) inflorescence biomass-.26 vs. .02 g cm-2; (4) total shoot density-2.87 vs. 1.95 shoots. cm-2; (5) reproductive shoot density-2.14 vs. .28 shoots cm-2; and (6) total nonstructural carbohydrates of roots and crowns -6.66 vs. 5.29 g.cm-2. The results contradict previous reports which indicate a period of 1 to several years before preburn levels of annual production are regained. Direct effects of fire on quiescent bunchgrasses result from heat damage of crown meristematic tissue and subsequent reduction of active crown area. However, crown area of marked Sitanion plants was unchanged as a result of burning. Indirect effects of fire derive from alteration of the effective environment of treated plants. Growth of Sitanion appears to be related to fire-induced changes in the physical environment and competitive relations within the annual plant-dominated community. 'Squaw Butte Station, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center, Burns, Oregon 97720. Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center is jointly operated by the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station, Oregon State University and the Agricultural Research Service-U.S. Dep. Agric. Technical Paper No. 7003, Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station.

The case for prescribed burning to control shrubs in eastern semi-arid woodlands.

of the paper highlights his willingness to contribute his experience freely to the discussion of issues confronting rangeland managers: "In this paper I hope to lead you through the financial history of Willangee Station. Through decisions we made, the mistakes we have made, the lessions we have learnt, the debts we have taken on and the profits we have made. Our aim is to expose all of these factsso people may learn from them'. The paper, along with others presented at the Seminar, was published in the Australian Rangeland Journal. In 1980 Bill hosted a tour of Willangee by the Barrier Environment Group during a Conference on the theme'% the West Darling becoming a Desert?" By his actions, conservationists and graziers were brought together duringa period when conservation of Australia's arid lands was becoming a major issue. Through his leadership of the Broken Hill Branch of the Australian Rangeland Society, Bill has contributed greatly to the exchange of ideas between academics, the pastoralist community and conservationists. With such a wealth of knowledge of the district and its people Bill has been aguiding influence to the Broken Hill Branch, the Committee and its members. Aust. Rangel. J. 7(2) 1985, 64- 74 THE CASE FOR PRESCRIBED BURNING TO CONTROL SHRUBS IN EASTERN SEMI-ARID WOODLANDS K.C. Hodgkinson and G.N. Harrington CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Rangelands Research, Private Bag, P.O., Deniliquin, N.S. W. 2710 Abstract A theor) for shrub control by prescnbed burn~ng In semi-and woodlands of eastern Australla IS outlmed. Th~s theory IS based on ~nev~table shrub Increases wh~ch occur pnnc~pally by ep~sod~c, w~despread, mass establ~shment events Wet per~ods whlch foster shrub establ~shment also promote abundant grass growth pred~sposlng the plant community to be~ng burnt Fue then k~lls nearly all recently establ~shed shrubs and many of theadult shrubs, thereby con- trollmg the shrub populat~on Today, fire IS much less frequent and IS prevented altogether In some areas. Prescr~bed burn~ng before any potential wddflre season w~ll both control shrubs and hm~t the spread of wddfires Three constraints to the adopt~on of prescrtbed burn~ng are recogn~sed economlc benefits are ma~nly real~sed over a 10-20 year term: * grazlers have l~ttle experience and Infrequent opportunltles to learn about fire; grazlers are reluctant to accept the nsks associated with burnmg. If semi-and woodlands are to be burnt at a frequency necessary for shrub control. grazlng pressures may need to be reduced to husband the vlgour of perenn~al pasture plants Opponun~st~c burnlng should take place at times of w~despread shrub seedl~ngestabl~shment. Prescribed burnlng IS the only known method for broad-scale shrub control and relevant State departments and grazlers are urged to collaborate In prescr~bed burn~ng to a regonal strategy. rather than property by property

Absorption characteristics of forest fire particulate matter

Absorption properties of smokes from laboratory fires that represent prescription burns in the Southern states have been quantified to relate variations in measured absorption parameters to variation in fire conditions and to estimate emission factors for elemental carbon. Results showed significant differences in absorption of the smoke emissions between flaming and smoldering combustion with specific absorption coefficient B a values ranging from 0.04 m 2 g −1 for smoldering combustion to 1 m 2 g −1 at 632.8 nm for flaming combustion. These measured optical properties and previously measured size data were used in Mie calculations to determine the overall radiative properties for the smokes from these fires. Mie calculations for λ = 550 nm indicate that somewhat less than 50% of the extinction will be due to particulate matter absorption in flaming combustion, whereas only about 5% of the extinction will be due to absorption under purely smoldering conditions. Calculated mass concentration/scattering ( C m / σ s ) ratios for λ = 500 nm show only a slight variation with n IM , decreasing from 3.3 × 10 5 μg m −2 at an imaginary refractive index ( n IM ) = 0.07 to a value of 2.7 × 10 5 μgm −2 at n IM = 0.007. The ratios calculated for the low absorption cases are generally consistent with previous experimental observations, although these calculations suggest that some of the variations seen in this ratio are consistent with variation due to differences in the optical properties of the particulates.

Effect of Fire on Mixed-Grass Plant Communities in Badlands National Park

This research has two principle objectives. The first of these is to determine the influence of fire on the density and peak standing crop of the major grass species of the Badlands National Park mixed-grass prairie. The second major objective is to develop burning prescriptions that would favor native plant species over exotics. Preemergent herbicide treatments have been added to provide an alternative method of controlling exotic annual plants.

Burning in a Bunchgrass/Sagebrush Community: The Southern Interior of B.C. and Northwestern U.S. Compared

Burning in a Bunchgrass/Sagebrush Community: The Southern Interior of B.C. and Northwestern U.S. Compared

Prescribed Burning and Water Quality of Ephemeral Streams in the Piedmont of South Carolina

Prescribed Burning and Water Quality of Ephemeral Streams in the Piedmont of South Carolina

Prescribed Burning on B.C. Rangelands: The State of the Art

Prescribed Burning on B.C. Rangelands: The State of the Art

Effect of Fire on Mixed-Grass Plant Communities in Badlands National Park

This research has two principle objectives. The first of these is to determine the influence of fire on the density and peak standing crop of major grass species of the Badlands National Park mixed-grass prairie. The second major objective is to develop burning prescriptions that would favor native plant species over exotics. Preemergent herbicide treatments have been added to provide an alternative method of controlling exotic annual plants.

An Evaluation of Dimension Analysis for Predicting Shrub Biomass

An Evaluation of Dimension Analysis for Predicting Shrub Biomass

Prescribed Burning during Winter for Maintenance of Buffelgrass

Prescribed Burning during Winter for Maintenance of Buffelgrass

The effect of fires on regeneration of leguminous species in the northern jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata Sm) forest of Western Australia

In the northern dry sclerophyll jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata Sm.) forests of South-west of Western Australia abundant germination of soil-stored seed of leguminous species commonly occurs following wildfire. Broad scale regeneration of legumes does not occur following normal low to moderate intensity prescription burning. Regeneration of leguminous species has been achieved on several sites by high intensity prescription burning without significant damage to the boles of crop trees. Leguminous seed is redistributed both vertically and horizontally by ants following seed-fall. The bulk of the seed occurs at depths at which there is no heat pre-treatment during normal prescription burns. Promotion of native legume species by modification of prescription burning techniques could be used to improve the health of the forest.

Prescribed Burning Reduces Severity of Annosus Root Rot in the South

Prescribed Burning Reduces Severity of Annosus Root Rot in the South