A 6-year experiment examined the effects of spring and summer fires on grasses in southern Wiscon... more A 6-year experiment examined the effects of spring and summer fires on grasses in southern Wisconsin. Synthetic communities of C3 and C4 grasses were seeded (100 seeds m-2 species-1) in 1992 and subjected to prescribed burns in May and August of 1995 and 1997, or left unburned. By 1994 all plots were virtual monocultures of the C3 reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.). By the second post-season sample in 1998, total productivity of plots burned in May was higher (781 ± 212 se g m-2 year-1) than those burned in August (362 ± 28 g m-2 year-1) or left unburned (262 ± 43 g m-2 year-2) due to the incursions of either the C4 grasses big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman), switichgrass (Panicum virgatum L), or both. These large late-season grasses are much more productive per area covered than P. arundinacea or the other two C3 grasses present, Elymus virginicus L. and Poa pratensis L. Even at this early stage of succession, C4 production in plots burned in May was 5 to 6 times th...
"Fire is an integral component of many temperate and tropical ecosystems, but it can be disr... more "Fire is an integral component of many temperate and tropical ecosystems, but it can be disruptive when it occurs in normally fire-free environments. Tropical deciduous forests in India have experienced annual anthropogenic fires for hundreds of years. We examined the effects of anthropogenic fires and fire exclusion on the stature of juvenile trees (≤1.5 m) in a tropical deciduous forest in central India. Plots burnt for 2 consecutive years showed no difference in juvenile size-class distribution before and after the treatment was imposed, while the juvenile trees in plots protected from fires showed a significant increase in height and attained greater stature. In plots protected from fire, juvenile trees exhibited some die-back as a result of dry season drought; however, the proportion of juveniles that died back was significantly smaller than the plants that experienced die-back in burnt plots. Relative growth rate of juvenile trees was significantly greater in unburned plo...
Despite accelerating environmental change, large-scale ecological restoration generally employs u... more Despite accelerating environmental change, large-scale ecological restoration generally employs un-replicated trial and error to create habitats destroyed or degraded by human activity. Trial and error is usual, following a management plan that employs the “best available practice” for each habitat type; adaptive management reflecting experience then corrects errors. Rare are simultaneous replicated trials during the initial restoration or corrective process. “Systemic experimental restoration” would design replicated planting or management contrasts at the outset of large-scale public and commercial restorations. Alternative treatments create mosaics of different manifestations of a community within a mosaic of habitat types. Replicated contrasts within habitats allow inference of cause and effect of success and failure on scales of communities, landscapes and ecosystems. For the long-term development of restoration ecology as a science, semi-natural communities of known contrastin...
... Chapter 9. Ecology of Pollination and Seed Dispersal. ... How to Cite. Howe, HF and Westley, ... more ... Chapter 9. Ecology of Pollination and Seed Dispersal. ... How to Cite. Howe, HF and Westley, LC (2009) Ecology of Pollination and Seed Dispersal, in Plant Ecology, Second Edition (ed MJ Crawley), Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Oxford, UK. doi: 10.1002/9781444313642.ch9. ...
A 6-year experiment examined the effects of spring and summer fires on grasses in southern Wiscon... more A 6-year experiment examined the effects of spring and summer fires on grasses in southern Wisconsin. Synthetic communities of C3 and C4 grasses were seeded (100 seeds m-2 species-1) in 1992 and subjected to prescribed burns in May and August of 1995 and 1997, or left unburned. By 1994 all plots were virtual monocultures of the C3 reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.). By the second post-season sample in 1998, total productivity of plots burned in May was higher (781 ± 212 se g m-2 year-1) than those burned in August (362 ± 28 g m-2 year-1) or left unburned (262 ± 43 g m-2 year-2) due to the incursions of either the C4 grasses big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman), switichgrass (Panicum virgatum L), or both. These large late-season grasses are much more productive per area covered than P. arundinacea or the other two C3 grasses present, Elymus virginicus L. and Poa pratensis L. Even at this early stage of succession, C4 production in plots burned in May was 5 to 6 times th...
"Fire is an integral component of many temperate and tropical ecosystems, but it can be disr... more "Fire is an integral component of many temperate and tropical ecosystems, but it can be disruptive when it occurs in normally fire-free environments. Tropical deciduous forests in India have experienced annual anthropogenic fires for hundreds of years. We examined the effects of anthropogenic fires and fire exclusion on the stature of juvenile trees (≤1.5 m) in a tropical deciduous forest in central India. Plots burnt for 2 consecutive years showed no difference in juvenile size-class distribution before and after the treatment was imposed, while the juvenile trees in plots protected from fires showed a significant increase in height and attained greater stature. In plots protected from fire, juvenile trees exhibited some die-back as a result of dry season drought; however, the proportion of juveniles that died back was significantly smaller than the plants that experienced die-back in burnt plots. Relative growth rate of juvenile trees was significantly greater in unburned plo...
Despite accelerating environmental change, large-scale ecological restoration generally employs u... more Despite accelerating environmental change, large-scale ecological restoration generally employs un-replicated trial and error to create habitats destroyed or degraded by human activity. Trial and error is usual, following a management plan that employs the “best available practice” for each habitat type; adaptive management reflecting experience then corrects errors. Rare are simultaneous replicated trials during the initial restoration or corrective process. “Systemic experimental restoration” would design replicated planting or management contrasts at the outset of large-scale public and commercial restorations. Alternative treatments create mosaics of different manifestations of a community within a mosaic of habitat types. Replicated contrasts within habitats allow inference of cause and effect of success and failure on scales of communities, landscapes and ecosystems. For the long-term development of restoration ecology as a science, semi-natural communities of known contrastin...
... Chapter 9. Ecology of Pollination and Seed Dispersal. ... How to Cite. Howe, HF and Westley, ... more ... Chapter 9. Ecology of Pollination and Seed Dispersal. ... How to Cite. Howe, HF and Westley, LC (2009) Ecology of Pollination and Seed Dispersal, in Plant Ecology, Second Edition (ed MJ Crawley), Blackwell Publishing Ltd., Oxford, UK. doi: 10.1002/9781444313642.ch9. ...
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