Summer fire and agricultural pests

This recent study compared the abundance of larvae of agricultural pests in plant native grasslands in the Conservation Reserve Program. One site was burned in a wildfire in July of 2012 and the other unburned. Larval samples were collected from 1 month post-fire to 4 months post-fire. 

For a summary of the study's results and implications for management, you can download a PDF version of the research brief here.

The original paper is:

Evans, T. R., C.J.M. Musters, E.D. Cashatt, and G.R. de Snoo. 2013. Lepidoptera pest species response to mid-summer fire. Fire Ecology 9:25-32.

Response of tallgrass prairie to fire frequency

This brief summarizes results from a study that was focused on eastern tallgrass prairie sites and examines how fire frequency influences the plant community. To investigate how fire frequency affects eastern tallgrass prairie, sites surveyed in 1976 were revisited in 2001 (25 years later). Sites ranged from those rarely (or never) burned to some which had been burned almost annually.

For a summary of the study's results and implications for management, you can download a PDF version of the research brief here.

The original paper is:

Marlin L. Bowles and Michael D. Jones. 2013. Repeated burning of eastern tallgrass prairie increases richness and diversity, stabilizing successional vegetation. Ecological Applications 23:464-478.