Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Annual fire and mowing alter biomass, depth distribution, and C and N content of roots and soil in tallgrass prairie

  • Regular Article
  • Published:
Plant and Soil Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

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 (<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 15–25% in plots that were burned, mowed, or both. Mowing effects on soil C and N were restricted to surface soils (0–10 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.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Archibald S, Bond WJ, Stock WD, Fairbanks DHK (2005) Shaping the landscape: fire-grazer interactions in an African savanna. Ecol Appl 15:96–109 doi:10.1890/03-5210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benning TL, Seastedt TR (1997) Effects of fire, mowing and nitrogen additions on root characteristics in tallgrass prairie. J Veg Sci 8:541–546 doi:10.2307/3237205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blair JM (1997) Fire, N availability, and plant response in grasslands: a test of the transient maxima hypothesis. Ecology 78:2359–2368

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blair JM, Seastedt TR, Rice CW, Ramundo R (1998) Terrestrial nutrient cycling in tallgrass prairie. In: Knapp AK, Briggs JM, Hartnett DC, Collins SL (eds) Grassland dynamics: Long-term ecological research in Tallgrass Prairie. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 222–243

    Google Scholar 

  • Bond WJ, Keeley JE (2005) Fire as a global ‘herbivore’: the ecology and evolution of flammable ecosystems. Trends Ecol Evol 20:387–394 doi:10.1016/j.tree.2005.04.025

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bremer DJ, Ham JM, Owensby CE, Knapp AK (1998) Responses of soil respiration to clipping and grazing in a tallgrass prairie. J Environ Qual 27:1539–1548

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Briggs JM, Knapp AK (1995) Interannual variability in primary production in tallgrass prairie: climate, soil moisture, topographic position and fire as determinants of aboveground biomass. Am J Bot 82:1024–1030 doi:10.2307/2446232

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Briggs JM, Knapp AK, Brock BL (2002) Expansion of woody plants in tallgrass prairie: a15-year study of fire and fire-grazing interactions. Am Midl Nat 147:287–294 doi:10.1674/0003-0031(2002)147[0287:EOWPIT]2.0.CO;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapin FS III (1980) The mineral nutrition of wild plants. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 11:233–260 doi:10.1146/annurev.es.11.110180.001313

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Collins SL (1987) Interaction of disturbances in tallgrass prairie: a field experiment. Ecology 68:1243–1250 doi:10.2307/1939208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collins S, Knapp AK, Briggs JM, Blair JM, Steinauer EM (1998) Modulation of diversity by grazing and mowing in tallgrass prairie. Science 280:745–747 doi:10.1126/science.280.5364.745

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dahlman RC, Kucera CL (1965) Root productivity and turnover in native prairie. Ecology 46:84–89 doi:10.2307/1935260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Detling JK, Dyer MI, Winn DT (1979) Net photosynthesis, root respiration, and regrowth of Bouteloua gracilis following simulated grazing. Oecologia 41:127–134 doi:10.1007/BF00344997

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickinson NM, Polwart A (1982) The effect of mowing regime on an amenity grassland ecosystem: above- and below-ground components. J Appl Ecol 19:569–577 doi:10.2307/2403489

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Field CB, Campbell JE, Lobell BD (2008) Biomass energy: the scale of the potential resource. Trends Ecol Evol 23:65–72 doi:10.1016/j.tree.2007.12.001

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Frank DA, McNaughton SJ, Tracy BF (1998) The ecology of the Earth’s grazing ecosystems. Bioscience 48:513–521 doi:10.2307/1313313

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frank DA, Kuns MM, Guido DR (2002) Consumer control of grassland plant production. Ecology 83:602–606

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fransen B, de Kroon H, Berendse F (1998) Root morphological plasticity and nutrient acquisition of perennial grass species from habitats of different nutrient availability. Oecologia 115:351–358 doi:10.1007/s004420050527

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fynn RWS, Haynes RJ, O’Connor TG (2003) Burning causes long-term changes in soil organic matter content of a South African grassland. Soil Biol Biochem 35:677–687 doi:10.1016/S0038-0717(03)00054-3

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gao YZ, Giese M, Lin S, Sattelmacher B, Zhao Y, Brueck H (2008) Belowground net primary productivity and biomass allocation of a grassland in Inner Mongolia is affected by grazing intensity. Plant Soil 307:41–50 doi:10.1007/s11104-008-9579-3

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson DJ, Seastedt TR, Briggs JM (1993) Management practices in tallgrass prairie: large- and small-scale experimental effects on species composition. J Appl Ecol 30:247–255 doi:10.2307/2404626

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris D, Horwath WR, van Kessel C (2001) Acid fumigation of soils to remove carbonates prior to total organic carbon or carbon-13 isotopic analysis. Soil Sci Soc Am J 65:1853–1856

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hartnett D, Hickman KR, Fischer-Walter LE (1996) Effects of bison grazing, fire, and topography on floristic diversity in tallgrass prairie. J Range Manage 49:413–420 doi:10.2307/4002922

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartnett DC, Steuter AA, Hickman KR (1997) Comparative ecology of native versus introduced ungulates. In: Knopf F, Samson F (eds) Ecology and conservation of great plains vertebrates. Springer-Verlag, New York, pp 72–101

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs NT, Schimel DS, Owensby CE, Ojima DS (1991) Fire and grazing in the tallgrass prairie: contingent effects on nitrogen budgets. Ecology 72:1374–1382 doi:10.2307/1941109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson LC, Matchett JR (2001) Fire and grazing regulate belowground processes in tallgrass prairie. Ecology 82:3377–3389

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knapp AK, Seastedt TR (1986) Detritus accumulation limits productivity of tallgrass prairie. Bioscience 36:662–668 doi:10.2307/1310387

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knapp AK, Briggs JM, Blair JM, Turner CL (1998a) Patterns and controls of aboveground net primary production in tallgrass prairie. In: Knapp AK, Briggs JM, Hartnett DC, Collins SL (eds) Grassland dynamics: Long-term ecological research in tallgrass prairie. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 193–221

    Google Scholar 

  • Knapp AK, Briggs JM, Hartnett DC, Collins SL (1998b) Grassland dynamics: Long-term ecological research in tallgrass prairie. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Knapp AK, Conard SL, Blair JM (1998c) Determinants of soil CO2 flux from a sub-humid grassland: effect of fire and fire history. Ecol Appl 8:760–770

    Google Scholar 

  • Knapp AK, Blair JM, Briggs JM, Collins SL, Hartnett DC, Johnson LC, Towne EG (1999) Keystone role of bison in North American tallgrass prairie. Bioscience 49:39–50 doi:10.2307/1313492

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kucera CL, Dahlman RC (1968) Root-rhizome relationships in fire-treated stands of big bluestem, Andropogon gerardii Vitman. Am Midl Nat 80:268–271 doi:10.2307/2423615

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loeser MR, Crews TE, Sisk TD (2004) Defoliation increased above-ground productivity in a semi-arid grassland. J Range Manage 57:442–447 doi:10.2307/4003972

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCulley RL, Jobbágy EG, Pockman WT, Jackson RB (2004) Nutrient uptake as a contributing explanation for deep rooting in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Oecologia 141:620–628 doi:10.1007/s00442-004-1687-z

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McNaughton SJ, Banyikwa FF, McNaughton MM (1997) Promotion of the cycling of diet-enhancing nutrients by African grazers. Science 279:1798–1800 doi:10.1126/science.278.5344.1798

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNaughton SJ, Banyikwa FF, McNaughton MM (1998) Root biomass and productivity in a grazing system. Ecology 79:587–592

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milchunas DG, Lauenroth WK (1993) Quantitative effects of grazing on vegetation and soils over a global range of environments. Ecol Monogr 63:327–366 doi:10.2307/2937150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noy-Meir I (1993) Compensating growth of grazed plants and its relevance to the use of rangelands. Ecol Appl 3:32–34 doi:10.2307/1941787

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oesterheld M (1992) Effect of defoliation intensity on aboveground and belowground relative growth rates. Oecologia 92:313–316 doi:10.1007/BF00317456

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ojima DS, Schimel DS, Parton WJ, Owensby CE (1994) Long- and short-term effects of fire on nitrogen cycling in tallgrass prairie. Biogeochemistry 24:67–84 doi:10.1007/BF02390180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds HL, D’Antonio C (1996) The ecological significance of plasticity in root weight ratio in response to nitrogen: Opinion. Plant Soil 185:75–97 doi:10.1007/BF02257566

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Risser PG, Birney CE, Blocker HD, May SW, Parton WJ, Weins JA (1981) The true prairie ecosystem. US/IBP Synthesis Series 16. Hutchinson Ross, Stroudsburg

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez MA, Alvarez J, Gomez-Sal A (1996) Vertical distribution of below-ground biomass in intensively grazed mesic grasslands. J Veg Sci 7:137–142 doi:10.2307/3236427

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • SAS Institute (1999) SAS/STAT user’s guide, version 8.0. SAS Institute, Cary

    Google Scholar 

  • Seastedt TR, Ramundo RA (1990) The influence of fire on belowground processes of tallgrass prairie. In: Collins SL, Wallace LL (eds) Fire in North American tallgrass prairies. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, pp 99–117

    Google Scholar 

  • Seastedt TR, Briggs JM, Gibson DJ (1991) Controls of nitrogen limitation in tallgrass prairie. Oecologia 87:2–79 doi:10.1007/BF00323782

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seastedt TR, Coxwell CC, Ojima DS, Parton WJ (1994) Controls of plant and soil carbon in a semihumid temperate grassland. Ecol Appl 4:344–353 doi:10.2307/1941938

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snaydon RW (1987) Ecosystems of the world. 17B. Managed grasslands: Analytical studies. Elsevier, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Tix D, Charvat I (2005) Aboveground biomass removal by burning and raking increases productivity in tallgrass prairie. Restor Ecol 13:20–28 doi:10.1111/j.1526-100X.2005.00004.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Todd TC (1996) Effects of management practices on nematode community structure in tallgrass prairie. Appl Soil Ecol 3:235–246 doi:10.1016/0929-1393(95)00088-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Todd TC, James SW, Seastedt TR (1992) Soil invertebrate and plant responses to mowing and Carbofuran application in a North American tallgrass prairie. Plant Soil 144:117–124 doi:10.1007/BF00018852

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Towne EG, Kemp KE (2003) Vegetation dynamics from annually burning tallgrass prairie in different seasons. J Range Manage 56:185–192 doi:10.2307/4003903

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner CL, Seastedt TR, Dyer MI (1993) Maximization of aboveground grassland production: the role of defoliation frequency, intensity, and history. Ecol Appl 3:175–186 doi:10.2307/1941800

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van der Maarel E, Titlyanova A (1989) Above-ground and below-ground biomass relations in steppes under different grazing conditions. Oikos 56:364–370 doi:10.2307/3565622

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Dyke F, Van Kley SE, Page CE, Van Beek JG (2004) Restoration efforts for plant and bird communities in tallgrass prairies using prescribed burning and mowing. Restor Ecol 12:575–585 doi:10.1111/j.1061-2971.2004.00352.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vinton MA, Hartnett DC, Finck EJ, Briggs JM (1993) Interactive effects of fire, bison (Bison bison) grazing, and plant community composition in tallgrass prairie. Am Midl Nat 129:10–18 doi:10.2307/2426430

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weaver JE (1954) North American prairie. Johnsen, Lincoln

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Support for this research was provided by the NSF-supported Konza Prairie Long-Term Ecological Research program, and by the Division of Biology at Kansas State University. We are grateful for field and laboratory assistance from A. Silletti, M. Stone, J. Nutt, K. Page, and the KPBS staff. This is publication 09-248-J from the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Rockford College, 5050 East State Street, Rockford, IL, 61108-2311, USA

    Duane J. Kitchen

  2. Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA

    John M. Blair

  3. Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Mac A. Callaham Jr.

Authors
  1. Duane J. Kitchen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. John M. Blair
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mac A. Callaham Jr.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Duane J. Kitchen.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Wim van der Putten.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kitchen, D.J., Blair, J.M. & Callaham, M.A. Annual fire and mowing alter biomass, depth distribution, and C and N content of roots and soil in tallgrass prairie. Plant Soil 323, 235–247 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-9931-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-9931-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation