[from the text] Prescribed burning is widely accepted as a critical management tool in the tallgrass prairie, however, the ecological effects of burning at different times of the season are poorly understood. In the Kansas Flint Hills, timing of ire is an important management issue that carries socio-economic as well as ecological implications. Early studies on the effects of early spring burning suggest reductions in total biomass production, increases in C3 grasses and undesirable forbs, and little success in controlling woody species. These findings have led land managers and local ranchers in the Flint Hills to burn almost exclusively in late spring to maintain high quality forage production and control undesirable plant species. Despite the myriad of benefits these fires have on agricultural sustainability and ecological function, nearby cities experience a sharp decline in air quality due to the release of concentrated smoke that facilitates tropospheric ozone production. This facilitation is exacerbated in late spring, relative to early spring and winter, due to higher temperatures and insolation. Towne and Craine 2014 point to possible misinterpretations of earlier studies dealing with early spring burning in the tallgrass prairie and suggest that a more recent 8 year study (Towne and Kemp 2003) provides evidence that burning can occur earlier in the year without the negative repercussions. The authors' goal was to expand on this 8year study to more thoroughly examine the long-term effects of burning in different seasons. They tested whether the timing of burning effects 1) total grass, forb, and woody species productivity, 2) relationships between grass biomass production and precipitation at different times of year, 3) lowering culm production of the dominant grasses, and 4) changes in plant community composition by analyzing 20 years of data on annual burning in different seasons (fall, winter, spring) from replicated ungrazed watersheds on the Konza Prairie Biological Station.