Prescribed Fire Monitoring Report, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve 2014 (IQCS fire number 285382, 285383, 266782, 285677)

Introduction In 2014, the preserve’s federal and NGO partners conducted prescribed fires during March, April, and October that encompassed 8129.8 acres of Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (TAPR). This was a unique burn year in that prescribed burns occurred in the spring, the traditional burn season, and the fall. Fall burns were conducted to support needed archaeological surveys as part of the environmental compliance for a symphony event scheduled for June 2015 at the preserve. Burns at TAPR were coordinated with local US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and various units of the National Park Service. Burns conducted in spring 2014 included: Red House Pasture, Crusher Hill Pasture, the southwest portion of Windmill Pasture, Big Pasture-North, Two Section, East Traps, and Bottomland Restorations (Fields 4, 8, and 18, and the east half of Field 20). In fall 2014, they included: the northeast portion of Windmill Pasture, Big Pasture-South, Southwind Nature Trail/Headquarters, and the northeast portion of Red House Pasture. These areas were successfully burned over the course of three days in the spring and two days in the fall (Table 1; See figure 8 for map of all burned areas.). The fire ecologist was unable to participate in the spring burn events, but was onsite for one day of fall burning. This report presents the 2014 monitoring data in the context of available long-term data that has been collected at TAPR since 2010

Vegetation Monitoring at Homestead National Monument of America, Nebraska, 1998–2017

Executive Summary The Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network has sampled permanent monitoring sites in three vegetation community types (restored prairie, successional forest, and bur oak forest) at Homestead National Monument of America since 1998 (includes nine sample years). Network scientists record each species, aerial cover estimates of ground flora, diameter at breast height of midstory and overstory trees, and tree regeneration frequency (tree seedlings and saplings) within these permanent sites. The park has experienced similar periods of drought and wetness through the monitoring record. Ground cover estimates indicate that prairie litter and bare ground are negatively related; prescribed fire cycles in the prairie are likely related to these trends in litter and bare ground. In the forests, bare ground is very low because deciduous leaf litter is high and variable. Ground flora vegetation is also sparse in the forests. Basal area for the park forests appears to be very stable through time. The successional forest is dominated by hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) with prominent bur oaks (Quercus macrocarpa), but the bur oak forest is dominated by a small number of large bur oak trees, although there are more hackberry trees overall in both forest types. Both forest types have a developed midstory layer (class 1 trees). Canopy closure continues to be high in both forest types. This closed canopy forest structure may limit oak regeneration because light is required on the forest floor for germination and recruitment. The most common species in the regeneration layer (seedlings and saplings) is hackberry. Bur oak regeneration was uncommon. Tree regeneration in the prairie was greatest in 2017 and dominated by elms (Ulmus spp.). The prairie ground flora was most diverse (109 native species found in 2017), meeting prairie management goals. Composition within the prairie monitoring sites may be becoming more distinct over time. Diversity measures were variable across the successional forest sites in most years. Forbs were the primary plant guild in the ground flora layer of both forest communities. Grass and forb guilds appeared to decline over time in the prairie, but we attribute that in part to sampling error. The woody species guild remained similar through time; this guild is better understood through focused thicket monitoring. Exotic species are most common in the prairie, but two target species, Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) and smooth brome (Bromus inermis), were below management thresholds. Plant communities at the park have remained relatively stable through the monitoring record. Trends in total plant cover and prairie forbs and grasses are unclear and likely due to sampling errors. Management actions that affect canopy cover have the potential to affect forest composition

Evaluating Long-term Trends in Vegetation and Management Intensity, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve 1995–2014

Abstract Inventory and Monitoring Networks of the National Park Service are charged with collecting and reporting data related to the status and trends of key natural resources. We have analyzed a suite of grazing data from 1995- 2016, fire history data from 1998-2015, and vegetation community data from 2002-2014 to better understand trends as they relate to management strategies at the preserve over time. We found that cattle stocking rates declined and fires became less frequent over the latter half of the record. Similarly, bare ground declined, woody species increased slightly, and the floristic quality index was relatively stable with a decline in 2014. Although it is difficult to directly infer cause and effect from our monitoring design, the data are valuable for helping park managers evaluate their goals and develop future action plans

Fire Ecology Monitoring Protocol for the Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network

Fire has played an important role in shaping the plant and animal communities of the Central Great Plains region. Lightning fires as well as those of anthropogenic origin were frequent during the period of historical interest for most parks. An era of fire suppression has led to changes in natural communities, however. Current prescribed fire programs in the region aim to restore or maintain ecosystems and reduce fuel loads in hopes of preventing catastrophic wildfire. The fire ecology program for the Central Great Plains region, embedded within the Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network (HTLN), is multifaceted. It serves as an integrating factor among the vital signs projects already in place within HTLN as well as integrating HTLN into the Midwest Region Fire programs. Field data collection that began in 2009 complements and enhances long-term data analysis previously established within HTLN. The current NPS-Fire strategic plan highlights the value of collaboration between Fire Ecology programs and Inventory and Monitoring networks. Sampling methods used are a hybrid of those described in the HTLN vegetation monitoring protocol and the NPS Fire Monitoring Handbook. The fire ecology program has adapted the protocols described in the Fire Monitoring Handbook to synchronize with the existing sample site array established by HTLN. In this way, both short-term fire ecology data and long-term vegetation monitoring data are collected in a complementary fashion. The short-term fire ecology data enhances understanding of potential disturbance related trends

Field Test of Digital Photography Biomass Estimation Technique in Tallgrass Prairie

Fuel loading information is important for prescribed fire planning, evaluating wildfire risk, and understanding fire effects in grassland. Yet fuel loads in grasslands often go unmeasured because of the time required to clip plots and process samples, as well as limited access or proximity to a drying oven. We tested the digital photography biomass estimation technique for measuring fuel load in grasslands in two national parks in the eastern Great Plains. The method consists of using percentage image obstruction, as determined by digital photography, to estimate vegetation biomass based on a linear transformation (i.e., regressing dry clipped weights against percent digital obstruction). We used the technique with some modification and measured digital obstruction at two sites at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Missouri (WICR), and three sites at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Kansas (TAPR). The method did not result in strong correlations at either of the two sites at WICR (Site 1: r2 = 0.02; Site 2: r2 = 0.32), but performed relatively well at TAPR (Site 1 [ 0.05). In general, the denser the vegetation, the weaker the relationship between the vegetation biomass of clip plots and the percentage image obstruction of digital images. The digital photography technique may not be useful for estimating fuel loads in grasslands with relatively high biomass (> 80 g 0.1 m-2) or digital image obstruction > 50%. Large amounts of litter may also potentially reduce the accuracy of the technique. The Rangeland Ecology & Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform August 202

From Working Group to Community of Practice: The Patch Burn-Grazing Community

Grassland conservation efforts in the central United States are challenging because much of the land is privately held. The Patch Burn-Grazing Working Group was formed by a small group of professionals in an effort to share information and resources related to the practice of patch burn-grazing and creation of heterogeneity in grasslands. After a decade of collaboration, the group has developed into a diverse community of professionals and private producers that come together to learn from each other. We developed a survey to assess the impact of this group on grassland conservation after a decade of existence. Our results indicate this grass roots organization has impacted the management of a substantial number of grassland acres in the United States. As we recounted the history of this group, we discovered that it has transitioned into what we propose is a community of practice rather than a working group

Quantifying variance across spatial scales as part of fire regime classifications

The emergence of large-scale fire classifications and products informed by remote sensing data has enabled opportunities to include variability or heterogeneity as part of modern fire regime classifications. Currently, basic fire metrics such as mean fire return intervals are calculated without considering spatial variance in a management context. Fire return intervals are also only applicable at a particular grain size (defined as the spatial unit of interest) even though they are typically applied homogeneously. In this study, we utilized a 29-yr fire occurrence database to show how spatial variance changes with respect to grain as postulated by Wiens (1989) when reporting fire patterns within the Great Plains, USA. We utilized data from the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity database of fire occurrence for the years 1984–2012. We analyzed median numbers of fire along with their variance at four spatial grains ranging from small units (e.g., plots at 3 x 3 km resolution) to large units (e.g., landscapes at 1500 x 2700 km resolution). Median number of fire occurrences was consistently low, irrespective of grain. Despite the consistency in low median numbers of fires across grain, variance in the numbers of fires between units decreased. Variance within units, however, did not change as grain increased indicating fire-pattern-scale inconsistencies. Fire pattern interpretations depended entirely on the scale at which it is calculated. Given that the Great Plains region has a large disparity in fire patterns (i.e., some regions burn often, while others may never burn), fire regime classifications will benefit from including scale-specific variance estimates as a foundation for understanding changes in fire regimes and corresponding social–ecological and policy responses

Woody Encroachment in Northern Great Plains Grasslands: Perceptions, Actions, and Needs

The United States Northern Great Plains (NGP) has a high potential for landscape-scale conservation, but this grassland landscape is threatened by encroachment of woody species. We surveyed NGP land managers to identify patterns in, and illustrate a broad range of, individual managers\u27 perceptions on (1) the threat of woody encroachment to grasslands they manage, and (2) what management practices they use that may influence woody encroachment in this region. In the 34 surveys returned, which came from predominantly public lands in the study area, 79% of responses reported moderate or substantial woody encroachment. Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) and Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) were the most problematic encroachers. Thirty-one survey respondents said that prescribed fire was used on the lands they manage, and 64% of these responses reported that controlling woody encroachment was a fire management objective. However, only 18% of survey respondents using prescribed fire were achieving their desired fire return interval. Most respondents reported using mechanical and/or chemical methods to control woody species. In contrast to evidence from the central and southern Great Plains, few survey respondents viewed grazing as affecting encroachment. Although the NGP public land managers we surveyed clearly recognize woody encroachment as a problem and are taking steps to address it, many feel that the rate of their management is not keeping pace with the rate of encroachment. Developing strategies for effective woody plant control in a variety of NGP management contexts requires filling ecological science gaps and overcoming societal barriers to using prescribed fire