@article {KNZ001234,
	title = {Annual fire and mowing alter biomass, depth distribution, and C and N content of roots and soil in tallgrass prairie},
	journal = {Plant and Soil},
	volume = {323},
	year = {2009},
	pages = {235 -247},
	abstract = {<p>Management practices, such as fire and mowing, can affect the distribution and quality of roots and soil C and N in grasslands. We examined long-term (13 years) effects of annual fire and mowing on fine (\&lt;2 mm) roots and soil C and N content in a native tallgrass prairie at Konza Prairie Biological Station in northeastern Kansas, USA. Using 90 cm deep soil cores, we determined that fire and mowing independently and interactively influenced the quantity and depth distribution of fine root biomass, root C and N concentration, and soil C and N content. Annual burning increased total fine root biomass by 48\% and total C storage in roots by 47\% compared to unburned unmowed plots, and resulted in a deeper distribution of roots. There was a significant interaction of fire and mowing, whereby mowing reduced root biomass and root C storage by ~30\% in annually burned plots, but did not affect total root biomass in unburned plots. Mowing also resulted in shallower distribution of roots regardless of fire treatment. Root N concentration was reduced by 15\&ndash;25\% in plots that were burned, mowed, or both. Mowing effects on soil C and N were restricted to surface soils (0\&ndash;10 cm), where mowing reduced soil C concentrations by ~20\% and N concentrations by 17\% regardless of burning treatment. In contrast, burning alone did not significantly influence soil C and N concentrations. In general, root biomass, root C and N mass, and soil C and N concentrations declined with depth, and most responses to burning and mowing exhibited significant interactions with depth. Different long-term fire and mowing regimes can significantly alter belowground root biomass and C and N dynamics in grasslands, and in particular at depths in the profile that are not typically sampled.</p>},
	keywords = {LTER-KNZ, fire, grassland, Mowing, Root biomass depth distribution, Soil C and N, tallgrass prairie},
	doi = {10.1007/s11104-009-9931-2},
	url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007\%2Fs11104-009-9931-2},
	author = {Kitchen, D.J. and John M. Blair and Callaham, M.A.}
}
@phdthesis {KNZ001034,
	title = {Effects of long-term fire and mowing on root dynamics in tallgrass prairie},
	volume = {PhD Dissertation},
	year = {2005},
	pages = {1 -159},
	school = {Kansas State University},
	type = {Ph.D. Thesis},
	address = {Manhattan},
	keywords = {LTER-KNZ},
	author = {Kitchen, D.J.}
}
@article {KNZ00861,
	title = {Effects of fire, mowing and fertilization effects on density and biomass of macroinvertebrates in North American tallgrass prairie soils},
	journal = {Soil Biology \&amp; Biochemistry},
	volume = {35},
	year = {2003},
	pages = {1079 -1093},
	abstract = {The responses of tallgrass prairie plant communities and ecosystem processes to fire and grazing are well characterized. However, responses of invertebrate consumer groups, and particularly soil-dwelling organisms, to these disturbances are not well known. At Konza Prairie Biological Station, we sampled soil macroinvertebrates in 1994 and 1999 as part of a long-term experiment designed to examine the effects and interactions of annual fire, mowing, and fertilization (N and P) on prairie soil communities and processes. For nearly all taxa, in both years, responses were characterized by significant treatment interactions, but some general patterns were evident. Introduced European earthworms (Aporrectodea spp. and Octolasion spp.) were most abundant in plots where fire was excluded, and the proportion of the total earthworm community consisting of introduced earthworms was greater in unburned, unmowed, and fertilized plots. Nymphs of two Cicada genera were collected (Cicadetta spp. and Tibicen spp.). Cicadetta nymphs were more abundant in burned plots, but mowing reduced their abundance. Tibicen nymphs were collected almost exclusively from unburned plots. Treatment effects on herbivorous beetle larvae (Scarabaeidae, Elateridae, and Curculionidae) were variable, but nutrient additions (N or P) usually resulted in greater densities, whereas mowing usually resulted in lower densities. Our results suggest that departures from historical disturbance regimes (i.e. frequent fire and grazing) may render soils more susceptible to increased numbers of European earthworms, and that interactions between fire, aboveground biomass removal, and vegetation responses affect the structure and composition of invertebrate communities in tallgrass prairie soils.},
	keywords = {LTER-KNZ, biomass, Cicadidae, Curculionidae, disturbance, earthworms, Elateridae, Fertilization, Fertilizer, fire, grassland, insect herbivores, nitrogen, Phosphorus, Scarabaeidae},
	doi = {10.1016/S0038-0717(03)00153-6},
	author = {Callaham, M.A. Jr. and John M. Blair and T.C. Todd and Kitchen, D.J. and M.R. Whiles}
}
@article {KNZ001,
	title = {Changes in ecosystem structure and function along a chronosequence of  restored grasslands},
	journal = {Ecological Applications},
	volume = {12},
	year = {2002},
	pages = {1688 -1701},
	abstract = {Changes in aboveground vegetation, roots, and soil characteristics were examined from a 12-yr chronosequence of formerly cultivated fields restored to native C4 grasses through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Following 6{\textendash}8 yr in the CRP, the native grasses dominated vegetation composition, and the presence of forbs was negligible. Productivity of the restored grasslands did not exhibit any directional changes with the number of years in the CRP, and productivity was generally higher than native prairie in this region. Over time, the restored grasslands accumulated root biomass of decreasing quality as indicated by increasing root biomass and C:N ratio of roots along the 12-yr chronosequence. Root biomass, root C:N ratio, C storage in roots, and N storage in roots of restored grasslands approached that of native tallgrass prairie within the 12 yr of restoration. Establishment of the perennial vegetation also affected soil physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. Soil bulk density in the surface 10 cm decreased with time since restoration. Total C, microbial biomass C, and C mineralization rates increased as a function of time since restoration. The greatest change in total C occurred in the surface 5 cm, where total C was 26\% greater in 12- vs. 2-yr restored grasslands. Extractable soil nitrate and soil N transformations (i.e., net N mineralization rates and net nitrification rates) declined over the restoration chronosequence, but these values were not representative of steady-state conditions due to the high variability in these measures among the native prairies. Although complete restoration of ecosystem structure and function was not the primary intention of the CRP, this study demonstrates that establishment of the matrix vegetation (i.e., native C4 grasses) drives ecosystem processes in the trajectory of the original system. Moreover, restoration may hasten the recovery of soil C pools relative to formerly cultivated systems undergoing natural succession.},
	keywords = {LTER-KNZ, ecosystem, function, grassland, structure},
	doi = {10.1890/1051-0761(2002)012[1688:CIESAF]2.0.CO;2},
	author = {S.G. Baer and Kitchen, D.J. and John M. Blair and C. W. Rice}
}
