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Fire-Induced Changes to the Vegetation of Tall-Tussock (Chionochloa Rigida) Grassland Ecosystems

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Fire-Induced Changes to the Vegetation of Tall-Tussock (Chionochloa Rigida) Grassland Ecosystems Fire-induced changes to the vegetation of tall-tussock (Chionochloa rigida) grassland ecosystems SCIENCE FOR CONSERVATION 290 Fire-induced changes to the vegetation of tall-tussock (Chionochloa rigida) grassland ecosystems Ian J. Payton and H. Grant Pearce SCIENCE FOR CONSERVATION 290 Published by Publishing Team Department of Conservation PO Box 10420, The Terrace Wellington 6143, New Zealand Cover: Lighting a summer burn at Mt Benger. Photo: Marcus Simons. Science for Conservation is a scientific monograph series presenting research funded by New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC). Manuscripts are internally and externally peer-reviewed; resulting publications are considered part of the formal international scientific literature. Individual copies are printed, and are also available from the departmental website in pdf form. Titles are listed in our catalogue on the website, refer www.doc.govt.nz under Publications, then Science & technical. © Copyright January 2009, New Zealand Department of Conservation ISSN 1173–2946 (hardcopy) ISSN 1177–9241 (web PDF) ISBN 978–0–478–14527–4 (hardcopy) ISBN 978–0–478–14528–1 (web PDF) This report was prepared for publication by the Publishing Team; editing by Amanda Todd and layout by Sue Hallas. Publication was approved by the General Manager (Research and Development Group), Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. In the interest of forest conservation, we support paperless electronic publishing. When printing, recycled paper is used wherever possible. CONTENTS Abstract 5 1. Introduction 6 2. Objectives 7 3. Methods 7 3.1 Study sites 7 3.2 Experimental design 8 3.3 Biomass, carbon and nutrient pools 10 3.4 Climatic conditions and fire weather indices 11 3.5 Fire temperatures 12 3.6 Plant and soil moisture 13 3.7 Tiller and tussock mortality 13 3.8 Tussock flowering and seedling establishment 13 4. Results 14 4.1 Biomass, carbon and nutrient pools in the unburned grasslands 14 4.2 Burn conditions and fire temperatures 15 4.3 Biomass, carbon and nutrient losses 20 4.4 Tiller and tussock mortality 25 4.5 Tussock flowering and seedling establishment 25 4.6 Changes to the structure and composition of the grasslands 28 5. Discussion and conclusions 29 5.1 Experimental design 30 5.2 Biomass, carbon and nutrient losses 30 5.3 Tiller and tussock mortality 32 5.4 Seedling establishment 33 5.5 General applicability of results 33 6. Management recommendations 34 7. Acknowledgements 34 8. References 35 Appendix 1 New Zealand Fire Weather Index System 38 Appendix 2 Pre-burn assessment of biomass, carbon and nutrient pools (kg/ha) at the Deep Stream study site (December 1997–February 1998) 39 Appendix 3 Pre-burn assessment of biomass, carbon and nutrient pools (kg/ha) at the Mt Benger study site (April 1998) 40 Appendix 4 Weather conditions, fire weather indices and fire behaviour for tussock grassland fires at Deep Stream and Mt Benger 41 Fire-induced changes to the vegetation of tall-tussock (Chionochloa rigida) grassland ecosystems Ian J. Payton1 and H. Grant Pearce2 1 Landcare Research, PO Box 40, Lincoln 7640, New Zealand Email: [email protected] 2 Scion, PO Box 29-237, Christchurch 8540, New Zealand Abstract The deliberate use of fire has long been a contentious issue in the South Island high country of New Zealand, being seen by some as damaging to the environment and by others as an essential pastoral management tool. These issues were examined in tall-tussock (Chionochloa rigida) grasslands at two sites in Otago, which were burned either in spring, to simulate pastoral management practice, or late summer, to simulate accidental fires. Fire temperatures reached over 1000°C, but were of short duration (4–8 minutes) and had little heating effect on the soil. Biomass, carbon and nutrient losses were lowest when the grasslands were burned under damp conditions, and increased as soil and plant moisture levels declined. The best predictors of biomass loss were the moisture content of the top 5 cm of soil and the base of the tussocks. Spring burns under damp conditions killed c. 35% of the tussock tillers but did not cause the death of tussocks, whereas burns under drier conditions or later in the growing season killed over 75% of tussock tillers and resulted in the death of tussocks. Seedling densities and inflorescence production were also least affected when the grasslands were burned under damp spring conditions; when conditions were drier, both were dramatically reduced and showed little sign of returning to pre-burn levels 4–5 years after the fire. Early season burns under damp conditions posed little threat to the long-term survival of tall-tussock ecosystems, whereas fires later in the season, or when conditions were drier, resulted in substantially greater biomass, carbon and nutrient losses and caused a loss of tussock dominance, at least in the short to medium term. Therefore, minimising their extent should be a priority wherever tussock cover is to be retained. Keywords: biomass, carbon, nutrients, Chionochloa rigida, fire, seedling establishment, tall-tussock grassland, tiller mortality, tussock mortality, tussock flowering. © Copyright January 2009, Department of Conservation. This paper may be cited as: Payton, I.J.; Pearce, H.G. 2009: Fire-induced changes to the vegetation of tall-tussock (Chionochloa rigida) grassland ecosystems. Science for Conservation 290. Department of Conservation, Wellington. 42 p. Science for Conservation 290 5 1. Introduction Fire and herbivory have been important selective forces in the development, maintenance and, in more recent times, the degradation of New Zealand’s indigenous grasslands. Below the climatic timberline, these communities are thought to be largely seral1 (McGlone 2001; Mark & Dickinson 2003) and, in the absence of periodic disturbance, they will revert to the woody growth forms that characterised montane and lowland landscapes in pre-human times (Molloy et al. 1963; Stevens et al. 1988). The introduction of pastoralism in the 1850s increased fire frequency, introduced mammalian herbivory and precipitated widespread changes in the stature and composition of these fire-induced grasslands (Connor 1964; O’Connor 1982, 1986). Change has been greatest in areas of lower rainfall, where the displacement of the dominant tall-tussocks by shorter tussock (Festuca spp., Poa spp.) or mat (Hieracium spp., Raoulia spp.) growth forms has been exacerbated by a range of alien plant (e.g. Hieracium spp., Rosa spp.) and animal (e.g. rabbits) pests. As native forage declined, many montane grasslands were oversown with adventive pasture grasses and legumes. Since the introduction of aerial topdressing in the late 1940s, some have also received intermittent applications of phosphate-based fertilisers (O’Connor 1987; O’Connor & Harris 1992). The net result is a mosaic of modified grassland communities that retain varying degrees of native dominance and biodiversity (Mark 1993). The deliberate use of fire in pastoral management has long been a contentious issue in the South Island high country (Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment 1995). Environmentalists frequently portray fire as damaging native flora and fauna, increasing the opportunities for the spread of invasive weeds and promoting soil erosion; in contrast, pastoralists see it as a means of improving access for stock, promoting palatable regrowth and reducing or removing so- called ‘woody weeds’. There are also increasing concerns over the long-term sustainability of burning and grazing practices, which continue to deplete the nutrient capital of these ecosystems (McIntosh 1997; O’Connor et al. 1999). Furthermore, the retirement of pastoral leasehold land and predictions of reduced rainfall (Hennessy et al. 2007) have raised concerns in rural communities that the increased biomass (fuel load) of grasslands that are no longer intentionally burned or grazed may pose an increased fire risk during the dry summer and autumn months. Over the last 50 years, a large number of studies have described the impacts of fire and grazing on tall-tussock grassland communities, and have documented the effect of fire on the growth and forage quality of the dominant tussock species (reviewed in Basher et al. 1990; McKendry & O’Connor 1990). Most of these studies have examined only single aspects of the tall-tussock ecosystem, and none have established a pre-burn baseline and characterised the severity of the fires. The present study, which comes at a time when large areas of tall-tussock 1 A seral community (or sere) is an intermediate stage in an ecological succession, here, from grassland to shrubland or forest. 6 Payton & Pearce—Fire-induced changes to the vegetation of tall-tussock ecosystems grassland are shifting from pastoral leases to public conservation land as part of the Tenure Review process (Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998), examined fire- related changes to the vegetation of two Chionochloa rigida grasslands in Otago. Parallel studies examined fire behaviour (H.G. Pearce and S.A.J. Anderson, Scion, unpubl. data) and examined fire effects on invertebrate communities (Barratt et al. 2007) in these grasslands. 2. Objectives The two main objectives of this study were to: • Document changes associated with early- and late-season burns in tall-tussock grasslands in Otago • Use these data to address the following questions: —Does fire cause long-term damage to tall-tussock grassland communities? —Are accidental summer–autumn burns more damaging than prescribed burns in late winter–early spring? —Are environmental conditions and fire weather indices good predictors of the severity of a burn? 3. Methods 3.1 StudY sitES Two experimental sites were used in this study: a coastal range site at Deep Stream (inland from Dunedin), on land owned and managed by the Dunedin City Council, and an inland range site at Mt Benger (near Roxburgh), on pastoral leasehold land (Fig. 1). The Deep Stream site, which is on gently sloping terraces (640–700 m a.s.l.) between Barbours and Clarkes Streams at the eastern end of the Lammerlaw Range, is typical of lower-altitude tall-tussock grasslands that are coming under increasing pressure for pastoral development.
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