PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #17: Restoration using Fire.
Tuesday, August 6. Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC

The response of plant communities to fire and grazing regimes in the Texas Hill Country .

SIMMONS, MARK^*,1, WINDHAGER, STEVE¹, ¹ LADY BIRD JOHNSON WILDFLOWER CENTER, AUSTIN, TEXAS

ABSTRACT- The Hill Country of central Texas is in dire need of ecological restoration. The suppression of summer fires and the introduction of intensive livestock grazing over the last 150 years, combined with climatic drought cycles, have resulted in significant modification of many native plant communities. A subsequent shift in land use across the region has resulted in a call for management strategies aimed at restoring the ecological integrity and productivity of the landscape. This study examines and compares the short and long-term effects of a range of practical land management techniques (different seasons of prescribed fire and mowing) on both individual species and plant communities. The treatments are based on techniques currently utilized by managers, techniques that could be used by managers, and techniques that mimic past ecological mechanisms which formerly sustained this ecosystem. The response of approximately 300 native, exotic and invasive plant species to a suite of 8 different fire and mowing regimes is measured at an experimental unit resolution of 0.5 ha (n = 6) across a 55 ha site. Analysis of data from the first year of study has revealed significant modification of both woody and herbaceous plant composition and diversity. By quantifying these different responses of the ecosystem, these data assist managers to tailor their management strategy to suit their individual needs.

KEY WORDS: FIRE, GRAZING, RESTORATION