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Optimal prescribed burn frequency to manage foundation California perennial grass species and enhance native flora

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Abstract

Grasslands can be diverse assemblages of grasses and forbs but not much is known how perennial grass species management affects native plant diversity except in a few instances. We studied the use of late-spring prescribed burns over a span of 11 years where the perennial grass Poa secunda was the foundation species, with four additional years of measurements after the final burn. We evaluated burn effects on P. secunda, the rare native annual forb Amsinckia grandiflora and local native and exotic species. Annual burning maintained P. secunda number, resulted in significant expansion, the lowest thatch and exotic grass cover, the highest percentage of bare ground, but also the lowest native forb and highest exotic forb cover. Burning approximately every 3 years maintained a lower number of P. secunda plants, allowed for expansion, and resulted in the highest native forb cover with a low exotic grass cover. Burning approximately every 5 years and the control (burned once from a wildfire) resulted in a decline in P. secunda number, the highest exotic grass and thatch cover and the lowest percentage of bare ground. P. secunda numbers were maintained up to 4 years after the final burn. While local native forbs benefited from burning approximately every 3 years, planted A. grandiflora performed best in the control treatment. A. grandiflora did not occur naturally at the site; therefore, no seed bank was present to provide across-year protection from the effects of the burns. Thus, perennial grass species management must also consider other native species life history and phenology to enhance native flora diversity.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Teneille Alfaro, Steven Gregory and Eric Walter of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for their many years of fieldwork and data collection support. Members of the LLNL Site 300 fire department conducted difficult precision prescribed burns every year for 11 years. Jake Schweitzer of Vollmar Natural Lands Consulting, Robert Preston of ICF International and John Gaskin of the USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory reviewed and commented on the draft manuscript. Comments from an anonymous reviewer greatly improved the manuscript. And finally, we would like to thank the management of LLNL Site 300 for their continued financial support. LLNL work conducted under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. USDA work supported by USDA appropriated project #5436-22000-017-00. Data sets generated during this research are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biosciences and Biotechnology Department, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA, 94550, USA

    Tina M. Carlsen

  2. Pest Management Research Unit, USDA-ARS Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, 1500 N Central Ave, Sidney, MT, 59270, USA

    Erin K. Espeland

  3. Environmental Functional Area, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA, 94550, USA

    Lisa E. Paterson

  4. Computations Department, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA, 94550, USA

    Don H. MacQueen

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  1. Tina M. Carlsen
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Correspondence to Tina M. Carlsen.

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Communicated by Kevin Edwards.

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Carlsen, T.M., Espeland, E.K., Paterson, L.E. et al. Optimal prescribed burn frequency to manage foundation California perennial grass species and enhance native flora. Biodivers Conserv 26, 2627–2656 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-017-1376-y

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