@proceedings {KNZ0048, title = {The effects of fire, litter and ash on flowering in Andropogon gerardii}, year = {1983}, pages = {21 -24}, publisher = {Department of Biology Western Michigan University}, address = {Kalamazoo, MI}, abstract = {

The objective of this study was to evaluate the relative importance of the direct effects of burning on inflorescence production in Andropogon gerardii. Major treatments used included all possible combinations of presence and absence of fire, litter, and ash. The environmental variables measured included soil moisture, soil temperature, available soil nitrogen, and amount of light at the soil surface. Soil moisture was significantly less on burned plots than on unburned plots. No significant differences in available soil nitrogen were observed. Soil temperatures were significantly higher and light at the soil surface was increased when the organic material was removed. Inflorescence per m2 of canopy cover was significantly increased by the presence of fire. Litter removal and addition of ash did not significantly affect inflorescence production. The results indicate for the first time that the presence of fire itself was a more important environmental cue for increased flowering than removal of litter or addition of ash by burning

}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ, flowering}, author = {Peterson, N.J.}, editor = {Brewer, R.} } @proceedings {KNZ0051, title = {Refuge design and ecological theory: lessons for prairie and forest conservation}, year = {1983}, pages = {61 -71}, publisher = {Department of Biology, Western Michigan University}, address = {Kalamazoo, MI}, abstract = {

We are far from experts on prairie vegetation, but we can summarize some contributions that academic biology-ecology, biogeography, population genetics, etc.-has attempted to make to conservation, assess their value, and comment on whether they may be useful in prairie conservation. Most current academic interest in conservation stems from the observation that, in the face of increasing human population, habitats of all sorts are increasingly insularized. This is as true of prairie as it is of forest. Effects of this insularization can conveniently be divided into two classes: 1) ecological and 2) genetic. We will treat both, though far more has been written and far more information is available about ecological consequences of insularization than about genetic consequences

}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ, conservation, prairie}, author = {Simberloff, D. and Gotelli, N.}, editor = {Brewer, R.} } @proceedings {KNZ0053, title = {Success in a secondary habitat: the dickcissel in the tallgrass prairie}, year = {1983}, pages = {47 -49}, publisher = {Department of Biology Western Michigan University}, address = {Kalamazoo, MI}, abstract = {

The dickcissel (Spiza americana) is the most abundant species in the breeding-season community of the tallgrass prairie in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Yet prairie is not the most preferred habitat; nesting density is as much as five times greater in mature oldfield communities. As a result of low nest density, prairie dickcissels suffer a significantly higher frequency as well as intensity of parasitism by the brown -headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) which reduces the production of young because of the removal of host eggs by the female cowbird. Prairie populations with low nest density, on the other hand, have a decreased chance of nests being destroyed by predators. Thus there is an offsetting balance between the two major factors affecting nest success so that the daily survival rate and the production of young in a prairie nest are no different from a nest in the oldfield community

}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ, tallgrass prairie}, author = {Zimmerman, J.L. and Finck, E.J.}, editor = {Brewer, R.} }