Regeneration and Fluctuation of Tallgrass Prairie Vegetation in Rresponse to Burning Frequency

Abstract

The importance of fluctuation (non-directional irregular changes), regeneration (recovery from disturbance) and landscape heterogeneity upon a tallgrass prairie in northeast Kansas [USA] which is prescribe burned in the spring once every 4 years, is described. All three processes were shown to be important in influencing, to varying degrees, the structure, life forms, and overall species composition. The biomass of grass, forbs and litter, and the relative abundance of different life forms were highly coupled with the burning cycle. Relative abundance of only a few species was related to the burning cycle, most species varied according to yearly climatic variation, soil type and differences between watershed units. In contrast, the frequency of a number of annual species was related to the burning cycle. Overall community patterns were related primarily to original landscape heterogeneity and secondarily to the burning cycle. Recognition of these patterns was a function of the scale of analysis.