Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Prescribed spring and fall surface burns are compared on two study plots in the ponderosa pine-grassland interface at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. Trees and shrubs are quantified 1 year pre- and 2 years post-burn on each plot, and results are compared with woody vegetation in a similar area subjected to a crown fire 5 years earlier. Surface fires significantly reduced density of smaller ponderosa pines but had little effect on the shrub community. In contrast, the crown fire killed pines of all sizes and most shrub species increased dramatically.
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/habitat/firebib/bock31.htm
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