Characteristics of Mixed-Oak Forest Ecosystems in Southern Ohio Prior to the Reintroduction of Fire
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United States Department of Characteristics of Mixed-Oak Agriculture Forest Service Forest Ecosystems in Northeastern Research Station Southern Ohio Prior to the General Technical Reintroduction of Fire Report NE-299 Abstract Mixed-oak forests occupied much of the Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau region of southern Ohio at the onset of Euro-American settlement (ca. 1800). Historically, Native Americans used fire to manage the landscape and fire was frequent throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries during extensive forest harvesting and then re-growth. Today, though mixed-oak forests remain dominant across much of the region, oak regeneration is often poor as other tree species (e.g., maples) are becoming much more abundant. This shift has occurred concurrently with fire suppression policies that began in 1923. A multidisciplinary experiment was initiated in southern Ohio to explore the use of prescribed fire as a tool to improve the sustainability of mixed-oak forests. This report describes the experimental design and study areas, and provides baseline data on ecosystem characteristics prior to prescribed fire treatments. Chapters describe forest history, an integrated moisture index, geology and soils, understory light environments, understory vegetation, tree regeneration, overstory vegetation, foliar nutrient status, arthropods, and breeding birds. The use of trade, firm or corporation names in this publication is for the information and convenience of the reader. Such use does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the Forest Service of any product or service to the exclusion of others that may be suitable. Published by: For additional copies: USDA FOREST SERVICE USDA Forest Service 11 CAMPUS BLVD SUITE 200 Publications Distribution NEWTOWN SQUARE PA 19073-3294 359 Main Road Delaware, OH 43015-8640 January 2003 Fax: (740)368-0152 Visit our homepage at: http://www.fs.fed.us/ne Characteristics of Mixed-Oak Forest Ecosystems in Southern Ohio Prior to the Reintroduction of Fire Edited by Elaine Kennedy Sutherland and Todd F. Hutchinson Acknowledgments We are greatly indebted to Mary Boda for her technical expertise and tireless work on the coordination, design, and production of this report. We thank Marty Jones for helpful editorial suggestions throughout the volume. We thank our research cooperators who have contributed their expertise and energy to the project. In addition to the authors of the enclosed chapters, we thank Jon Bart, David Hix, and Deanna Stouder for contributing to the research effort. We also thank the many institutions who participated in the establishment of the study: The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, The Ohio Lepidopterists, Ohio University, Ohio State University, The Nature Conservancy, USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, and USGS Biological Resources Division. We thank our management partners, MeadWestvaco Corporation and The Wayne National Forest for providing the study sites and logistical support; in particular, we thank Ralph Miller (formerly with The Wayne National Forest, currently with The Ottawa National Forest) and Wayne Lashbrook (MeadWestvaco) for their leadership. We also thank David Hosack, Forest Manager, Vinton Furnace Experimental Forest, for logistical support and technical expertise on many aspects of the study. Funding was provided by the Washington Office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, for the ecosystem management research project ‘Effectiveness of Prescribed Burning in the Ecological Restoration of Mixed-Oak Forests in Southern Ohio’. Contents Chapter 1 ................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction, Study Area Description, and Experimental Design Elaine Kennedy Sutherland, Todd F. Hutchinson, and Daniel A. Yaussy Chapter 2 .............................................................................................................................................................. 17 History of Forests and Land-use Todd F. Hutchinson, Darrin Rubino, Brian C. McCarthy, and Elaine Kennedy Sutherland Chapter 3 .............................................................................................................................................................. 29 A GIS-Derived Integrated Moisture Index Louis R. Iverson and Anantha M. Prasad Chapter 4 .............................................................................................................................................................. 43 Physiography, Geology, and Soil Classification Ralph E. J. Boerner and Elaine Kennedy Sutherland Chapter 5 .............................................................................................................................................................. 47 Soil and Forest Floor Characteristics Ralph E. J. Boerner, Sherri J. Morris, Kelly L. M. Decker, and Todd F. Hutchinson Chapter 6 .............................................................................................................................................................. 57 Canopy Openness, Understory Light Environments, and Oak Regeneration Brian C. McCarthy and Scott A. Robison Chapter 7 .............................................................................................................................................................. 67 Understory Vegetation Steve Sutherland, Todd F. Hutchinson, and Jennifer L. Windus Chapter 8 .............................................................................................................................................................. 85 Composition and Abundance of Tree Regeneration Todd F. Hutchinson, Elaine Kennedy Sutherland, and Charles T. Scott Chapter 9 .............................................................................................................................................................. 99 Structure, Composition, and Condition of Overstory Trees Daniel A. Yaussy, Todd F. Hutchinson, and Elaine Kennedy Sutherland Chapter 10 .......................................................................................................................................................... 113 Foliar Nutrient Concentrations of Oak, Hickory, and Red Maple Amy J. Scherzer, Robert P. Long, and Joanne Rebbeck Chapter 11 .......................................................................................................................................................... 123 Monitoring Selected Arthropods R. Chris Stanton, David J. Horn, Foster F. Purrington, John W. Peacock, and Eric H. Metzler Chapter 12 .......................................................................................................................................................... 139 Breeding Bird Communities Vanessa L. Artman and Randy Dettmers Appendix ...........................................................................................................................................................157 Publications resulting from the research project described in this volume. Chapter 1 Introduction, Study Area Description, and Experimental Design Elaine Kennedy Sutherland1, Todd F. Hutchinson2, and Daniel A. Yaussy2 1USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, Montana 2USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio Abstract Written accounts prior to Euro-American settlement often described open-structured oak forests and the use of Throughout much of the Eastern Deciduous Forest, the fire by Native Americans (Whitney 1994; Bonnickson sustainability of oak-dominated forests is threatened by 2000). The long-term abundance of oak in eastern poor oak regeneration as other tree species increase in deciduous forests has been associated with fire, as abundance. Historically, fire was a frequent process in evidenced by palynology studies of charcoal and oak oak-dominated ecosystems (savannas, woodlands, open- pollen from lake sediments (Clark and Royall 1995; structured forests) as Native Americans and then Euro- Delcourt and Delcourt 1997; Maenza-Gmelch 1997; American settlers used fire for a variety of purposes. Oaks Delcourt et al. 1998; Fuller et al. 1998). Studies of fire- are well adapted to fire and aggressive fire suppression scarred trees indicate frequent fire (return intervals less since ca. 1930 is considered a key factor contributing to than 10 years) in oak forests and woodlands before and the reduced sustainability of oak ecosystems today. As after Euro-American settlement, until organized fire forests become more dense and oak abundance decreases, suppression began, ca. 1930 (Guyette and Cutter 1991; species adapted to open-structured forests and dependent Cutter and Guyette 1994; Sutherland 1997; Shumway et on hard-mast will likely be affected as well. In 1994, we al. 2001). Aggressive fire suppression over the last 70 initiated a multidisciplinary study of prescribed fire as a years is widely considered to be the most important factor tool to restore structure, composition, and function to contributing to the reduced sustainability of oak- mixed-oak forest ecosystems in southern Ohio. In this dominated forests today (Lorimer 1984; Abrams 1992; chapter we introduce the problem and the rationale for Lorimer 1993; Van Lear and Watt 1993). the study. We also describe the experimental design and general characteristics