The Fire–Oak Literature of Eastern North America: Synthesis and Guidelines
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United States Department of Agriculture The Fire–Oak Literature of Eastern North America: Synthesis and Guidelines Patrick H. Brose Daniel C. Dey Thomas A. Waldrop Forest Northern General Technical Service Research Station Report NRS-135 July 2014 Abstract Guidelines for using prescribed fire to regenerate and restore upland oak forests, woodlands, and savannas in eastern North America were developed by synthesizing the results of more than 100 scientific publications. The first four chapters provide background information on the values of oak ecosystems, eastern fire history, oak’s adaptations to fire, and the findings of fire-oak research conducted over the past 50 years. The final chapter synthesizes that background information into guidelines that explain how to use prescribed fire to facilitate oak seedling establishment, release oak reproduction from competing mesophytic hardwoods, and rehabilitate open oak woodlands, oak savannas, and scrub oak communities. A reference section is also provided for readers desiring to delve more deeply into the associations between periodic fire and oak forests, woodlands, and savannas. The Authors PATRICK H. BROSE is a research forester with the U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Irvine, PA. DANIEL C. DEY is a research forester and project leader with the U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Columbia, MO. THOMAS A. WALDROP is a research forester and team leader with the U.S. Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Clemson, SC. Cover Photos Photos illustrating two of the roles that periodic prescribed fire can fulfill in the sustaining of mixed-oak forests in eastern North America. Upper left: oak forest succeeding to a mixed mesophytic forest in the absence of periodic fire. Upper right: seedbed preparation burn in a mature oak stand. Lower left: release burn in an oak shelterwood. Lower right: oak stand with abundant, vigorous oak reproduction resulting from the use of prescribed fire. Photos by Patrick Brose and Daniel Yaussy, U.S. Forest Service. This synthesis was funded by the Joint Fire Science Program Manuscript received for publication 27 December 2013 Published by: For additional copies: U.S. FOREST SERVICE U.S. Forest Service 11 CAMPUS BLVD SUITE 200 Publications Distribution NEWTOWN SQUARE PA 19073 359 Main Road Delaware, OH 43015-8640 Fax: (740)368-0152 July 2014 Email: [email protected] Visit our homepage at: http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/ The Fire — Oak Literature of Eastern North America: Synthesis and Guidelines Patrick H. Brose Daniel C. Dey Thomas A. Waldrop Quality Assurance This publication conforms to the Northern Research Station’s Quality Assurance Implementation Plan which requires technical and policy review for all scientific publications produced or funded by the Station. The process included a blind technical review by at least two reviewers, who were selected by the Assistant Director for Research and unknown to the author. This review policy promotes the Forest Service guiding principles of using the best scientific knowledge, striving for quality and excellence, maintaining high ethical and professional standards, and being responsible and accountable for what we do. General Technical Report NRS-135 This page intentionally left blank. CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................1 The Values of Oak Ecosystems ...............................................................................2 The Fire-Oak Synthesis Project ...............................................................................7 CHAPTER 2: FIRE HISTORY OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA .................................8 Paleoecology Studies ..............................................................................................8 Dendrochronology Studies .................................................................................... 10 Synthesis ............................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 3: ADAPTATIONS OF OAK TO FIRE ......................................................... 17 Acorns ................................................................................................................... 17 Seedlings ............................................................................................................... 18 Saplings .................................................................................................................21 Mature Trees ..........................................................................................................22 Synthesis ...............................................................................................................24 CHAPTER 4: REVIEW OF FIRE EFFECTS STUDIES ...............................................26 Mature Stands .......................................................................................................27 Young Stands .........................................................................................................34 Immature Stands ...................................................................................................35 Synthesis ...............................................................................................................36 CHAPTER 5: GUIDELINES FOR USING FIRE IN OAK ECOSYSTEMS ....................41 Essential Background Information .........................................................................41 Seedbed Preparation Burning ...............................................................................46 Release Burning ....................................................................................................51 Ecological Restoration Burning ..............................................................................63 EPILOGUE ..................................................................................................................73 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..............................................................................................73 LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................................... 74 APPENDIX 1: COMMON AND SCIENTIFIC NAMES OF THE FLORA AND FAUNA MENTIONED IN THIS REPORT .....................................................................98 This page intentionally left blank. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Of all the plant communities that make up the eastern hardwood biome, the oak1 ecosystems (forests, savannas, shrublands, and woodlands) are perhaps the most important because of their vastness, diversity, and many ecological and economic values (Smith 2006). At least 50 oak species grow east of the 100th meridian, and some type of oak community is found in every state and adjacent Canadian province (Burns and Honkala 1990, Stein et al. 2003). Some oak species such as white oak are widespread and occur in most states and provinces, while others like Mohr oak are restricted to a few counties in Oklahoma and Texas. Oaks occur as solitary individuals in grassland environments, as a few scattered trees in northern hardwood forests, as substantial portions of complex, mixed-species assemblages, and as nearly pure monocultures (Fig. 1). They vary in size from the shrubby runner oak and vine-like dwarf live oak to the massive bur oak and cherrybark oak. Oaks grow in a wide array of habitats, from seasonally- flooded bottomlands, to rich mountain coves, to xeric ridges and sandhills. Their widespread occurrence, variation in size and form, and diversity of habitats are three of the reasons the generic oak was designated by Congress as America’s national tree (Arbor Day Foundation 2001, 2004). 1 Scientific names of flora and fauna are listed in the Appendix. Figure 1.—Oaks occur as solitary trees (upper left), scattered individuals in other forest types (upper right), substantial portions of mixed-species stands (lower left), and as nearly pure monocultures (lower right). Photos by Patrick Brose, U.S. Forest Service. 1 Figure 2.—In many parts of eastern North America, oak forests are being replaced by various mesophytic hardwood species such as red maple. Photo by Patrick Brose, U.S. Forest Service. Despite this widespread occurrence and dominance, oak ecosystems are declining in abundance and require careful management to be sustained. The scientific literature abounds with studies reporting chronic oak regeneration failures and the replacement of oaks by mesophytic hardwood species (Abrams and Downs 1990, Aldrich et al. 2005, Healy et al. 1997, Schuler and Gillespie 2000, Woodall et al. 2008). Pennsylvania is a prime example of the oak regeneration problem. Recent U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis data show that for all stems larger than 2 inches in diameter at breast height (d.b.h.), red maple and sweet birch are the two most common species, and the most common oak, northern red, is the ninth most abundant hardwood (McWilliams et al. 2004). The disparity is especially evident in the sapling (1- to 5-inch d.b.h.) and pole (6- to 10-inch d.b.h.) size classes where red maple outnumbers all oaks by ratios of 6:1 and 3:1, respectively (Fig. 2). As mature oaks succumb to various causes, they are being replaced by hardwood species other than oaks. This conversion is highly undesirable for many ecological and economic reasons. The Values of Oak Ecosystems One of the primary reasons for retaining and promoting oak is its importance to wildlife, and that value begins with