Forest fire has no significant effect on abundance or diversity of edaphic arthropods at CERA

Abstract

We conducted our study of the effect of fire on edaphic arthropods at the Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA), an experimental prairie restoration project owned and managed by Grinnell College. The area contains many different communities including wetlands, savanna, and forest, all surrounded by prairie. We carried out our fieldwork at the Upland White Oak Forest in the northeast corner of the grounds. As a part of its management program, this forest fragment was subjected to controlled burns in April 1997 and November 1998 (DeLong 1998). We hoped to determine whether fire helps to promote a healthy forest community by investigating the response of CERAs woodland edaphic arthropods to fire, measured according to arthropod abundance and diversity.