Description

Once subject to frequent fire and strongly N limited, the forests of the Appalachian Mountain region of eastern North America have experienced almost a century of fire suppression, and changes in tree species composition, understory density and composition, and accumulations of detritus have paralleled the changes in fire frequency. In an effort to restore these ecosystems and reduce wildfire hazard, alternative management strategies (prescribed fire, mechanical fuel reduction, and a combination of both) were implemented at study sites in Ohio and North Carolina as part of the Fire and Fire Surrogate Network Study. As changes in N cycling resulting from these treatments could have potential negative impacts on forest health that might limit their usefulness as management alternatives, we monitored treatment effects on extractable total inorganic N (TIN), net N mineralization, net nitrification, and proportional nitrification during the growing season before treatment, the first growing season after treatment, and the third or fourth growing season after treatment.