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TP112

Ecology and restoration of montane meadows at Bunchgrass Ridge near the Andrews Experimental Forest, 1999-2013

  • Creator(s): Charles B. Halpern
  • PI(s): Charles B. Halpern
  • Originator(s): Charles B. Halpern
  • Other researcher(s): Frederick J. Swanson, Joseph A. Antos
  • Dates of data collection: Jun 15 1999 - Jul 31 2013
  • Data collection status: Study collection is completed and no new collection is planned
  • Data access: Online
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/7d0d0a5c7bd5ee2c4a07b30ec45b6738
  • Last update: Jul 18 2022 (Version 11)
<Citation>     <Acknowledgement>     <Disclaimer>    
Halpern, C. 2022. Ecology and restoration of montane meadows at Bunchgrass Ridge near the Andrews Experimental Forest, 1999-2013. Long-Term Ecological Research. Forest Science Data Bank, Corvallis, OR. [Database]. Available: http://andlter.forestry.oregonstate.edu/data/abstract.aspx?dbcode=TP112. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/7d0d0a5c7bd5ee2c4a07b30ec45b6738. Accessed 2024-12-10.
Data were provided by the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest research program, funded by the National Science Foundation's Long-Term Ecological Research Program (DEB 2025755), US Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, and Oregon State University.
While substantial efforts are made to ensure the accuracy of data and documentation, complete accuracy of data sets cannot be guaranteed. All data are made available "as is". The Andrews LTER shall not be liable for damages resulting from any use or misinterpretation of data sets.
ABSTRACT:
In a region dominated by coniferous forests, montane meadows contribute greatly to landscape diversity, wildlife habitat, and other important ecological functions and societal values. Throughout the Pacific Northwest, suppression of fire and changes in climate and grazing pressure have led to rapid succession of meadow to forest. Faced by gradual loss of these habitats, land managers are experimenting with tree removal and prescribed fire as tools for restoration. Research at Bunchgrass Ridge explores the history of conifer encroachment, the consequences for meadow vegetation, and the potential to restore native meadows through tree removal and prescribed burning. Spatially explicit reconstructions of the invasion history provide the context for a large-scale restoration experiment testing the efficacy of tree removal, with or without prescribed fire. Measurements from the experimental plots include pre- and post-treatment data on plant species composition for subplots of known invasion history. Data from adjacent, uninvaded meadows serve as targets for assessing restoration success. Our ultimate goal is to determine whether tree removal is sufficient to reverse the effects of encroachment, whether fire is also necessary, and whether the duration or density of invasion pose barriers to meadow reassembly.

Study Description Study Site Map Taxonomic Hierarchy Download Study Location Information: (CSV)
Ecological Metadata Language: (EML)
ENTITY TITLES:
1Pilot study: ground-surface conditions and ground vegetation, pre and post-fire (Jun 15 1999 - Sep 15 2000)METADATADATA
Ground-surface conditions and species cover in 1999 and 2000 (pre- and post-fire, respectively); study terminated
2GPS coordinates of JFSP experimental plots and early-invasion plot (Jun 15 2004 - Sep 15 2004)METADATADATA
GPS coordinates (original UTMs and calculated latitude/longitude) collected in 2004 at the corners of the nine 1-ha experimental plots and the 0.5-ha early-invasion plot (JFSP experiment); also includes LIDAR/DEM derived aspect, slope, and elevation
3Ground-surface conditions and plant species composition, pre- and post-treatment: quadrat-scale (1 x 1 m) cover (Jun 29 2004 - Jul 31 2013)METADATADATA
Cover data from the four 1 x 1 m quadrats per subplot; includes ground-surface conditions, burn severity, and plant species (pre- and post-treatment; JFSP experiment)
4Ground-surface conditions and plant species composition, pre- and post-treatment: frequency and mean subplot-scale (10 x 10 m) cover (Jun 29 2004 - Jul 31 2013)METADATADATA
Frequency of occurrence (proportion of quadrats) and mean cover within subplots (10 x 10 m) for ground-surface conditions, burn severity, and plant species (pre- and post-treatment); derived from entity 3 (JFSP experiment)
5Tree seedling counts, pre- and post-treatment; quadrat (1 x 1 m) data (Jun 29 2004 - Jul 31 2013)METADATADATA
Tree seedling counts by species in the four 1 x 1 m quadrats per subplot, pre- and post-treatment (JFSP experiment)
6Tree seedling density, pre- and post-treatment; subplot-scale (10 x 10 m) means derived from entity 5 (Jun 29 2004 - Jul 31 2013)METADATADATA
Mean tree seedling density (number per m^2) by species in each subplot, pre- and post-treatment; derived from entity 5 (JFSP experiment)
7Tree spatial locations, diameters, and ages (pre-treatment) in the intensively mapped experimental plots (Jun 15 2003 - Sep 15 2006)METADATADATA
Tree x/y locations, diameters, ring counts and adjusted ages prior to treatment in each of the four intensively mapped experimental plots (JFSP experiment)
8Tree diameters (pre-treatment) in the non-mapped experimental plots (Jun 15 2004 - Sep 15 2004)METADATADATA
Tree diameters within each 10 x 10 m subplot prior to treatment in each of the five non-mapped experimental plots (JFSP experiment)
9Image analysis of hemispherical canopy photos (pre-treatment) (Jun 15 2004 - Sep 15 2004)METADATADATA
Estimates of canopy cover and direct and indirect light prior to treatment among subplots in each experimental plot; based on Gap Light Analyzer (GLA) image analysis (JFSP experiment)
10Soil seedbank composition (pre-treatment) (Jun 15 2004 - Sep 15 2004)METADATADATA
Densities of germinants of each plant species emerging from soil samples collected prior to tree removal from the experimental plots (JFSP experiment)
11Post-logging and post-burning fine fuel tallies and heights (Jul 6 2006 - Oct 6 2006)METADATADATA
Fine-fuel loadings (counts) and fuel depth prior to and after the experimental treatments (JFSP experiment)
12Post-fire ground conditions in broadcast burned plots (Oct 3 2006 - Oct 6 2006)METADATADATA
Post-fire ground conditions in the three broadcast burned plots (JFSP experiment)
13Bulk density and soil chemistry (post-treatment) (Aug 2 2007 - Aug 3 2009)METADATADATA
Soil bulk density and chemistry in the experimental plots, post-treatment (JFSP experiment)
14Burn-pile study: ground-surface conditions, burn severity, and plant species cover, post-treatment (Jul 9 2007 - Jul 19 2013)METADATADATA
Ground-surface conditions, burn severity, and plant species cover (post-treatment) in and adjacent to the burn-pile scars (JFSP experiment)
15Burn-pile study: bulk density and soil chemistry, post-treatment (Jul 14 2007 - Jul 14 2009)METADATADATA
Bulk density and soil chemistry (post-treatment) in and adjacent to the burn-pile scars (JFSP experiment)
16Subplot-scale species lists (2013 only) (Jun 28 2013 - Sep 20 2013)METADATADATA
List of species present in 2013 in each 10 x 10 m subplot of each experimental plot (JFSP experiment)
17Reference meadow transects: ground-surface conditions and plant species composition in 2013: quadrat-scale (1 x 1 m) cover (Jun 28 2013 - Sep 20 2013)METADATADATA
Quadrat-scale cover data for each of the 117 reference meadow transects; includes ground surface-conditions and plant species (2013 only)
18Reference meadow transects: ground-surface conditions and plant species composition in 2013: frequency and mean cover (Jun 28 2013 - Sep 20 2013)METADATADATA
Frequency of occurrence (proportion of quadrats) and mean cover in each of the 117 reference meadow transects; includes ground-surface conditions and plant species (2013 only); derived from entity 17
19Repeat photographs of the experimental plots (Jul 2 2007 - Jul 9 2012)METADATADATA

RELATED MATERIALS:
 Web site for Bunchgrass Ridge - Restoration of montane meadows in western Oregon - A center for research and adaptive management

RELATED PUBLICATIONS:
 Halpern, Charles B., Antos, Joseph A., Kothari, Shan, Olson, Annette M. 2019, Past tree influence and prescribed fire exert strong controls on reassembly of mountain grasslands after tree removal (Pub. No: 5091)
 Halpern, Charles B., Antos, Joseph A., McKenzie, Donald, Olson, Annette M. 2016, Past tree influence and prescribed fire mediate biotic interactions and community reassembly in a grassland-restoration experiment (Pub. No: 4920)
 Halpern, Charles B., Haugo, Ryan D., Antos, Joseph A., Kaas , Sheena S., Kilanowski, Allyssa L. 2012, Grassland restoration with and without fire: evidence from a tree-removal experiment (Pub. No: 4681)
 Rice, Janine. M., Halpern, Charles. B., Antos, Joseph. A., Jones, Julia. A. 2012, Spatio-temporal patterns of tree establishment are indicative of biotic interactions during early invasion of a montane meadow (Pub. No: 4710)
 Halpern, C. B., Antos, J. A., Rice, J. M., Haugo, R. D., Lang, N. L. 2010, Tree invasion of a montane meadow complex: temporal trends, spatial patterns, and biotic interactions (Pub. No: 4579)
 Haugo, Ryan D. 2010, Causes and consequences of conifer invasion into Pacific Northwest grasslands (Pub. No: 4640)
 Clark, Rachel, Halpern, Charles, Swanson, Fred 2009, Restoring mountain meadows: using fire, vegetation, and fuel management in western Oregon (Pub. No: 4586)
 Haugo, Ryan D., Halpern, Charles B. 2007, Vegetation responses to conifer encroachment in a western Cascade meadow: a chronosequence approach (Pub. No: 4193)
 Thompson, Jonathan, Swanson, Fred 2007, Mountain meadows--here today, gone tomorrow? Meadow science and restoration (Pub. No: 4238)
 Lang, Nicole L., Halpern, Charles B. 2007, The soil seed bank of a montane meadow: consequences of conifer encroachment and implications for restoration (Pub. No: 4239)
 Lang, Nicole L. 2006, The soil seed bank of an Oregon montane meadow: consequences of conifer encroachment and implications for restoration (Pub. No: 4173)
 Halpern, Charles B., Antos, Joseph A. 2021, Rates, patterns, and drivers of tree reinvasion 15 years after large-scale meadow-restoration treatments (Pub. No: 5165)
 Celis, Jessica, Halpern, Charles B., Muldoon, Ariel 2019, Consequences of reduced light for flower production in conifer-invaded meadows of the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A (Pub. No: 5106)
 Celis, Jessica, Halpern, Charles B., Jones, F. Andrew 2017, Intraspecific trait variation and the differential decline of meadow species during conifer encroachment (Pub. No: 4968)
 Kremer, N. J., Halpern, C. B., Antos, J. A. 2014, Conifer reinvasion of montane meadows following experimental tree removal and prescribed burning (Pub. No: 4850)
 Case, M.F., Halpern, C.B., Levin, S.A. 2013, Contributions of gopher mound and casting disturbances to plant community structure in a Cascade Range meadow complex (Pub. No: 4794)
 Haugo, Ryan D., Halpern, Charles B. 2010, Tree age and tree species shape positive and negative interactions in a montane meadow (Pub. No: 4574)
 Jones, Chad C., Halpern, Charles B., Niederer, Jessica 2008, Plant succession on gopher mounds in western Cascade meadows: consequences for species diversity and heterogeneity (Pub. No: 4251)
 Rice, Janine 2007, Forest encroachment in sub-alpine meadows: responses to past and future change in climate, fire, and grazing practices (Pub. No: 4298)