Determining appropriate fire frequencies for oak savannas in two Ontario Provincial Parks

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Date

2004

Authors

Etwell, Tracey
Bazely, Dawn

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Heritage Resources Centre, University of Waterloo

Abstract

Prescribed burning is a popular management tool in many prairie and savanna restorations. In Ontario's globally rare oak savanna plant communities it is viewed as a means of restoring historic disturbance regimes essential for the maintenance of native species. Prescribed burn plans have been implemented at two Carolinian provincial parks, Rondeau and Pinery. Our goals are to establish a framework for the restoration of oak savanna communities that is based on the principles of restoration ecology and adaptive management. Since burning has both short and long-term effects, effective monitoring of plant community responses is essential. A key to success will be ensuring that protocols for measuring long-term plant community responses to burning, that are designed to be carried out by researchers with varying levels of field expertise yield sound data.

Description

Article in Conference Proceedings

Keywords

Adaptive management, Restoration ecology, Oak savanna, Prescribed burning

Citation

Etwell, T. and Bazely, D. R. 2004. Determining appropriate fire frequencies for oak savannas in two Ontario Provincial Parks. Proceedings of the 6th Parks Research Forum of Ontario, 2004: Protected Areas and Watershed Management. pp. 433-442.