Archived: Managing Oak Ecosystems with Fire in the Eastern U.S.

Managing Oak Ecosystems with Fire in the Eastern U.S.

July 16, 1-2 pm Central

Presenter: Dan Dey, research forester, US Forest Service Northern Research Station

Sustaining oak forests and restoring oak savannas and woodlands are increasingly common management goals in the Midwest and Great Lakes Regions. Sustaining oak forests requires successful regeneration and recruitment into the overstory. The regeneration potential of oak following a disturbance or harvest that initiates stand regeneration is determined largely by the size structure of oak before the event. Collectively, regeneration from (1) seed, (2) advance reproduction, and (3) stump sprouts contribute to oak regeneration but vary in their competitive capacity. Oak regeneration potential is modified by site, competitor regeneration potential and management input.

Prescribed fire is increasingly being used to promote oak regeneration with mixed results, and it is required to restore oak savannas and woodlands. Oak has many silvical traits that make it well adapted to fire. Fire can promote oak regeneration, but it also can reduce it, promote competing vegetation including invasive species, and retard oak recruitment into the overstory. Fire is a tool that can be used to sustain oak forests if it is applied judiciously with knowledge of oak forest ecology and stand dynamics, and with basic forest inventory information. Combining prescribed fire with thinning or harvesting can be effective in increasing oak regeneration potential and dominance in future stands, and it is a good approach to accelerating the restoration of oak savannas and woodlands.

There are two options to view this recorded webinar: 

1) https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2309720278793443587

2) Or stream through the consortium's Vimeo page, where you can find this talk and more on oak savanna and woodland management.

This white oak seedling germinated at the workshop site in the fall of 2017.