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Type: Journal Article
Author(s): John R. Tester
Publication Date: 1989

From 1964 to 1984, prescribed burning experiments were performed on oak (Quercus spp.) forest and oak savanna in east-central Minnesota, USA. Eighty-nine burns were carried out on 9 compartments ranging from 2.6 to 27.5 ha. Intervals between fires varied from 1 to 12 years. Soil pH increased significantly with frequency of burning. Total nitrogen was positively correlated (P < 0.01) with per cent organic matter. Species richness was highest in areas which were burned approximately every 2 years. Different plant functional groups responded differently to frequency of burning. Cover of true prairie grasses increased from less than 5 to about 15 per cent. True prairie forbs showed a significant increase in cover from less than 2 to about 8 per cent with increasing frequency of burning. Density of true prairie shrubs showed a tendency to increase whereas density of non-prairie shrubs and of trees showed tendencies to decrease with increased frequency of fire. Thus, the frequency of prescribed burning strongly influenced vegetative composition and physiognomy as well as soil characteristics.

Online Links
Citation: Tester, John R. 1989. Effects of fire frequency on oak savanna in east-central Minnesota. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 116(2):134-144.

Cataloging Information

Regions:
Keywords:
  • annual plant
  • burning intervals
  • fire frequency
  • fire management
  • fire regimes
  • forbs
  • grasses
  • hardwood forest
  • Minnesota
  • natural areas management
  • nitrogen
  • nutrient cycling
  • oak savanna
  • perennial plant
  • pH
  • plant growth
  • plant species diversity
  • population density
  • prairie
  • prairie
  • Quercus ellipsoidalis
  • Quercus macrocarpa
  • Quercus spp.
  • savannas
  • season of fire
  • shrubs
  • soil attributes
  • soil nutrients
  • species richness
  • succession
  • succession
Tall Timbers Record Number: 5531Location Status: In-fileCall Number: Journals-B and Fire FileAbstract Status: Okay, Fair use, Reproduced by permission
Record Last Modified:
Record Maintained By: FRAMES Staff (https://www.frames.gov/contact)
FRAMES Record Number: 18575

This bibliographic record was either created or modified by Tall Timbers and is provided without charge to promote research and education in Fire Ecology. The E.V. Komarek Fire Ecology Database is the intellectual property of Tall Timbers.