Effect of Fires on Woody Vegetation in the Pine-grassland Ecotone of the Southern Black Hills

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Abstract
This paper presents a 3 yr study (1979-1981) on the effects of prescribed burning of ponderosa pine forests at Wind Cave National Park in the southern Black Hills, South Dakota. The fires were largely restricted to surface fuels and forest understory vegetation. Effects upon understory shrubs and deciduous trees were modest. In 8 study plots 2 cool-season (autumn and spring) fires consistently reduced densities of Ribes spp. and stimulated Amorpha canescens Pursh., while other shrubs were unaffected. These burns significantly reduced the density of immature and smaller mature ponderosa pines. The reductions were consistent across all 8 study plots. By contrast, an autumn (1974) crown fire in ponderosa pine, killed pines of all sizes and most shrub species increased dramatically. These differences in postfire vegetation response are attributed to variable fire intensities.

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