Pre- and post-treatment seed-bank characteristics of woody species were compared after two prescribed fires in a mesic mixed-oak forest in the central Appalachians. Nineteen woody species were identified from soil samples. Mean species richness declined but evenness did not after prescribed burning. The seed bank was dominated by black birch, yellow-poplar, blackberry, grapevine and Hercules club before burning. Following burning, the median density of seed bank propagules declined by 45 percent. Black birch, yellow-poplar, and grapevine declined by 69, 56, and 40 percent, respectively. The results illustrate the importance of the seed bank as a robust source of non-oak regeneration in mixed-oak forests and of the potential effect of fire altering it.
The third edition of The Ecology and Silviculture of Oaks is an updated and expanded edition that explores oak forests as responsive ecosystems. New chapters emphasize the importance of fire in sustaining and managing oak forests, the effects of a changing climate, and advanced artificial regeneration techniques. This new edition expands on silvicultural methods for restoring and sustaining oak woodlands and savannahs, and on management of ecosystem services, including wildlife habitat. It also incorporates new material on evaluating landscape-scale, and cumulative effects of management action compared with inaction. Nine of the fifteen chapters cover updated information on the geographic distribution of US oaks, oak regeneration dynamics, site productivity, stocking and stand development, even- and uneven-aged silvicultural methods, and growth and yield. This edition includes a new section with colour illustrations for improved visualization of complex relationships. This book is intended for forest and wildlife managers, ecologists, silviculturists, environmentalists, and students of those fields.
Prescribed fire in eastern deciduous forests has been understudied relative to other regions in the United States yet is increasingly being used for management purposes. Particularly in Pennsylvania where prescribed fire use has increased by more than five times since 2009, the localized forest response has not been extensively studied. Given the feedback system between vegetation and fire, Pennsylvania deciduous forests will both burn and respond differently than forests across the Eastern U.S. due to variations in pre-fire land use and forest composition. This study broadens the understanding of increased fire disturbance by asking how prescribed fire affects mid-Atlantic deciduous forests over time. We measured changes in forest structure, composition, and fuel loadings up to eight years after prescribed fire in the ridge and valley region of the Appalachian Mountains in central Pennsylvania. Research was conducted on Pennsylvania State Game Lands 176 from 2009-2018. Within five years after prescribed fire, tree seedling density increased by more than 72% while sapling density decreased by 90%, midstory density dropped 46%, and depending on pre-fire conditions, overstory densities either increased or decreased to about 200 stems per hectare. However, not all tree species responded similarly and post-fire shifts in relative abundance occurred in the sapling and seedling size classes. Red maple and cherry abundance decreased while sassafras, quaking aspen, hickory, and black oak increased. Compositional shifts were most pronounced where pre-fire overstory thinning and two prescribed fires were applied. Other prescribed fire effects include litter depth increases, sustained duff losses, accumulation of coarse woody debris, and variability in fine woody debris over time. Forest response to prescribed fire is highly dependent upon pre-fire land use, management, weather, and vegetation. In context with other studies throughout eastern forests, we found post-fire structural changes are more consistent than compositional shifts. As scarce resources and burn windows limit prescribed fire use, management goals focused on forest structure can be achieved more readily and goals focused on forest composition will require a combination of long-term fire use and steady monitoring.
"Five years after a single prescribed fire in a second-growth central Appalachian oak-hickory stand, many overstory trees died or declined in vigor. A major reduction in butt-log quality on the residual trees was observed. Fire scars were prevalent on a large number of trees and scars showed various stages of decay. Advanced seedling and sprout reproduction increased for red maple, northern red oak, and Hickory. Overall stocking of advance reproduction of red maple, black locust, and hickory increased during the 5 years; red and chestnut oak were poorly distributed and accounted for only 3 percent of the stocking. Striped maple was the most abundant and widespread noncommercial species before and after burning. The large amount of damage to the overstory stand and failure to control the large number of noncommercial understory stems with a single prescribed fire indicate that more research is needed before fire can be recommended for use as a regeneration tool in central Appalachian hardwood stands. S3.
