Twenty-five years of tree demography in a frequently burned oak woodland

Due to decades of fire suppression, much of the Upper Midwest savanna habitat has converted to oak woodland.  In efforts to restore oak savanna habitat, fire has been re-introduced in many of these woodlands.  A primary purpose of these burns is to kill the fire-sensitive mesophytic tree species, which had established themselves during the decades of fire suppression, reduce the number of understory trees, and preserve the larger more widely spaced oaks.  It is clear from ongoing efforts that restoring oak savannas will require frequent fires over decades.  But frequent fires over the long term can also threaten the desirable oaks.  Long-term demographic studies at savanna restoration sites experiencing frequent fires are necessary to determine the extent to the frequent burns are supporting and/or confounding restoration goals.  Results presented here are from a twenty-five-year demographic study of an Upper Midwest bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) savanna/woodland experiencing frequent fi...