| The deciduous forests of the eastern United States have been dominated by oak (Quercus) species for the past 10,000 years. However, over the last 50 years the oak component of the regeneration of many of these forests has declined dramatically. Prescribed burning may improve oak regeneration, but the effects of this practice on other aspects of these communities are largely unknown.; To better understand the ecological response of oak-dominated communities to prescribed burning, the USDA Forest Service initiated an ecosystem management project in 1994 in southern Ohio. Four study sites in Vinton and Lawrence counties were subdivided into three treatment units. The treatments were "frequent" fire (burned annually), "infrequent" fire (burned every third year), and "control" (not burned). In order to investigate the impacts of prescribed burning on surface-active invertebrates, ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) were monitored via pitfall and light trapping along dry ridge tops.; Overall carabid abundance and flightless carabid abundance recorded by pitfall trapping decreased during the course of this study, but there were no significant changes related to prescribed burning treatment. Seasonal trends in carabid abundance also were not significantly affected by prescribed burning.; No significant effects of prescribed burning were detected on carabid species richness, diversity, or evenness. Year-to-year changes in these indices were related to changes in one very abundant species (Synuchus impunctatus ) and to the low number of carabids collected in 1999.; Comparisons of the carabid species collected at each study site via pitfall trapping suggested that distinct assemblages existed in Vinton County, northern Lawrence County, and southern Lawrence County. These different assemblages were most likely related to differences in soil characteristics and understory vegetation among these three areas.; Results from other aspects of this research showed that prescribed burning alters the local environment by causing changes in soil chemistry, leaf litter biomass, and understory vegetation. Despite these changes, this study indicated that low intensity spring fires do not significantly impact surface-active carabid populations on xeric, upland sites in oak-dominated forests. |
