Skip to Main Content
U.S. Forest Service
Caring for the land and serving people

United States Department of Agriculture

Home > Search > Publication Information

  1. Response of overstory and understory vegetation 37 years after prescribed burning in an aspen-dominated forest in northern Minnesota, USA – A case study

    Share via EmailShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInShare on Twitter
    Dislike this pubLike this pub
    Author(s): A. Dhar; C. D. Baker; H. B. Massicotte; B. Palik; C. D. B. Hawkins
    Date: 2018
    Source: Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology
    Publication Series: Scientific Journal (JRNL)
    Station: Northern Research Station
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/11263504.2016.1255265
    PDF: Download Publication  (1.0 MB)

    Description

    Many studies have examined short-term changes in understory vegetation following prescribed burning. However, knowledge concerning longer term effects on both forest understory and overstory vegetation is lacking. This investigation was initiated to examine changes in understory (herbaceous and shrub) and overstory species composition almost four decades after logging and prescribed burning at the Pike Bay Experimental Forest in Minnesota. The experiment was established in 1964 with a randomized block design with four treatments: control (c); burned in spring 1967 (S0); burned in spring 1967 + repeat burn spring 1969 (S2); and burned in spring 1967 + repeat burn fall 1970 (F4). Overstory and understory species diversity indices and richness varied within and among treatments but were not strongly or consistently affected by the treatments. Multivariate analyses (multi-response block permutation procedures and nonmetric multidimensional scaling) reveal some lingering effects of burning intensity and seasonal variation as well as some compositional differentiation among treatments, but only in the herb layer. In this environment, the effects of two repeated burnings (fire) have essentially disappeared for overstory and understory species diversity and community composition and have failed to convert an aspen-dominated stand to a coniferous stand (an original goal of the study).

    Publication Notes

    • Check the Northern Research Station web site to request a printed copy of this publication.
    • Our on-line publications are scanned and captured using Adobe Acrobat.
    • During the capture process some typographical errors may occur.
    • Please contact Sharon Hobrla, shobrla@fs.fed.us if you notice any errors which make this publication unusable.
    • We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
    • This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.

    Citation

    Dhar, A.; Baker, C. D.; Massicotte, H. B.; Palik, B.; Hawkins, C. D. B. 2018. Response of overstory and understory vegetation 37 years after prescribed burning in an aspen-dominated forest in northern Minnesota, USA – A case study. Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology. 152(1): 70-79. https://doi.org/10.1080/11263504.2016.1255265.

    Cited

    Google Scholar

    Keywords

    community composition, disturbance, multi-response block permutation procedures (MRBP), non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS), restoration, species diversity

    Related Search

    XML: View XML
Show More
Show Fewer
Jump to Top of Page
https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/53429