Abstract
Abstract Background In eastern North American forests and woodlands, formerly dominant oaks ( Quercus spp. L.) and pines ( Pinus spp. L.) are experiencing widespread regeneration challenges. These challenges are due to past land use and fire exclusion facilitating positive feedbacks that reduce the effectiveness of low-severity prescribed fire. High-severity fires (wildfires and potentially prescribed burns) offer promise to overcome these feedbacks and assist in ecosystem restoration. In 2010, a 670-ha mixed-severity wildfire burned in the Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky, USA, providing a rare opportunity to track oak-pine community recovery across a wide fire severity spectrum for 12 years. We examined the effects of burn severity on species diversity, forest structure, community assemblage, stem recruitment into the midstory (2–10 cm diameter at breast height [DBH]) and canopy (10 + cm DBH), and non-native invasive plant (NNIP) populations, and compared these effects to previous results published after 6 years post-fire. Results The relative importance of midstory pyrophyte species (e.g., Quercus spp. and Pinus spp.) was positively related to field-measured burn severity, while mesophytes (e.g., Acer rubrum , Betula lenta ) displayed a weaker negative relationship. After 12 years, higher burn severity yielded greater midstory recruitment of pyrophytes; however, this was only observed for yellow pines ( P. echinata Mill., P. rigida Mill., P. virginiana Mill.) and non-oak-pine pyrophytes. Oaks’ and mesophytes’ midstory recruitment displayed no relationship with burn severity. Increased burn severity strongly increased invasive species presence, particularly Chinese silvergrass ( Miscanthus sinensis Andersson). Conclusions Six years after fire, oak midstory recruitment was positively related to burn severity. By year 12, higher burn severity was no longer associated with oak midstory recruitment but was associated with increased recruitment and importance of other pyrophytic species, particularly yellow pines. Our results also suggest that a single high-severity fire can increase the long-term competitive status of pyrophytes relative to mesophytes. As such, higher-severity fire may be an important tool in restoring fire-adapted communities where low-severity fire lacks the ability to produce meaningful forest structure and community changes. However, NNIP proliferation in high-severity burn areas can undermine the restoration benefits we observed.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
The relative importance of midstory pyrophyte species such as Quercus and Pinus was positively related to field-measured burn severity.
Verbatim
e0“The relative importance of midstory pyrophyte species (e.g., Quercus spp. and Pinus spp.) was positively related to field-measured burn severity”
Claim · model-written summary
Mesophytes such as Acer rubrum and Betula lenta showed a weaker negative relationship between their relative importance and field-measured burn severity.
Verbatim
e0“The relative importance of midstory pyrophyte species (e.g., Quercus spp. and Pinus spp.) was positively related to field-measured burn severity”
e1“while mesophytes (e.g., Acer rubrum , Betula lenta ) displayed a weaker negative relationship”
Claim · model-written summary
After 12 years, higher burn severity yielded greater midstory recruitment of pyrophytes.
Verbatim
e0“After 12 years, higher burn severity yielded greater midstory recruitment of pyrophytes”
Claim · model-written summary
The greater midstory recruitment of pyrophytes with higher burn severity after 12 years was observed only for yellow pines (Pinus echinata, P. rigida, P. virginiana) and non-oak-pine pyrophytes.
Verbatim
e0“higher burn severity yielded greater midstory recruitment of pyrophytes; however, this was only observed for yellow pines ( P. echinata Mill., P. rigida Mill., P. virginiana Mill.) and non-oak-pine pyrophytes”
Claim · model-written summary
Midstory recruitment of oaks showed no relationship with burn severity after 12 years.
QuercusOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Oaks’ and mesophytes’ midstory recruitment displayed no relationship with burn severity”
Claim · model-written summary
Midstory recruitment of mesophytes showed no relationship with burn severity after 12 years.
Verbatim
e0“Oaks’ and mesophytes’ midstory recruitment displayed no relationship with burn severity”
Claim · model-written summary
Increased burn severity strongly increased the presence of invasive species, particularly Chinese silvergrass (Miscanthus sinensis).
- Taxon
- invasive speciese0
- Treatment
- Increased burn severitye0
- Outcome
- invasive species presencee0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Increased burn severity strongly increased invasive species presence, particularly Chinese silvergrass ( Miscanthus sinensis Andersson)”
Claim · model-written summary
Six years after the fire, oak midstory recruitment was positively related to burn severity (the earlier result the study compares against).
- Treatment
- burn severitye0
- Outcome
- oak midstory recruitmente0
- Direction
- positively relatede0
- Qualifier
- Six years after firee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Six years after fire, oak midstory recruitment was positively related to burn severity”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors suggest that a single high-severity fire can increase the long-term competitive status of pyrophytes relative to mesophytes.
Verbatim
e0“a single high-severity fire can increase the long-term competitive status of pyrophytes relative to mesophytes”
Claim · model-written summary
Higher-severity fire may be an important tool for restoring fire-adapted communities where low-severity fire cannot produce meaningful forest structure and community changes.
Verbatim
e0“higher-severity fire may be an important tool in restoring fire-adapted communities where low-severity fire lacks the ability to produce meaningful forest structure and community changes”
Claim · model-written summary
Proliferation of non-native invasive plants in high-severity burn areas can undermine the restoration benefits observed.
Verbatim
e0“NNIP proliferation in high-severity burn areas can undermine the restoration benefits we observed”