Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Laws.) forests have changed considerably during the past century, partly because recurrent fires have been absent for a century or more. In dense stands of ponderosa pine in the Black Hills of South Dakota, a layer of pine needles has replaced understory vegetation. I examined the disturbance history, soil seed bank, and effects of prescribed burning and overstory reduction on understory vegetation in a ponderosa pine stand in the northern Black Hills. Cessation of fires, prolific ponderosa pine regeneration, and logging led to a dense, even-aged stand with very little understory vegetation and few viable seeds in the soil seed bank. Understory vegetation did not respond to restoration treatments the first growing season, but did respond the second growing season. Paucity of viable seeds in the soil seed bank does not appear to constrain recruitment of understory vegetation in dense ponderosa pine forests of South Dakota.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/278759 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Wienk, Cody Lee |
| Contributors | McPherson, Guy R. |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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