The reintroduction of fire into grassland and savanna systems invaded by Juniperus has been unsuccessful largely in restoring grassland or savanna community dynamics. Here I focus on the use of extreme fire as a potential tool in the restoration of a Quercus savanna invaded heavily by Juniperus. I found extreme fire can induce high levels of mortality in mature Juniperus woodland. However, multiple pathways can produce the fire intensity necessary to create these effects. The successful use of extreme fire in this study demonstrates that prior restoration attempts were futile because the fire thresholds believed to preclude restoration of Juniperus woodland are contingent upon (1) scale dependencies in relating fuels, fire behavior, and fire effects, (2) an inability to identify interactions among multiple environmental variables, and (3) social constraints that prevent the occurrence of specific processes that drive ecological restoration.Department of Plant and Soil Science
