Does burning affect species diversity and abundance of the understory flora of the upland white oak forest at CERA?

Abstract

Controlled burning is a widely-used tool in prairie restoration. Its effects have been extensively studied in open prairie, but less studied in prairie-region forests. This study examines the effects of burning on understory species populations in a central Iowa oak-hickory forest. We conducted the experiment in eighteen plots (ten burned, eight unburned) in Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA) in Iowa. We found no significant difference between the treatments in diversity, species richness, or total number of stems per plot. However, three of the most abundant species showed significant differences in abundance between treatments. The numbers of individuals of Sanicula gregaria and Cryptotaenia canadensis were significantly greater in burned plots than in unburned, while the reverse was true of individuals of Galium aparine