Response of Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica) to
fire and herbicide treatments in a degraded sand prairie
Sean P. Wylie and Todd A. Aschenbach, Grand Valley State University
Introduction
Dry sand prairie was historically expansive throughout
Michigans lower peninsula, and is a vital component of our
states oak-pine barrens ecosystem. Remaining sand prairie is a
fragment of what it once was, its historic expanse degraded and
destroyed by fire suppression, reforestation, and agriculture.
Federally endangered Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa
samuelis) populations have been declining, because they
require dry sand prairie for habitat throughout their life cycle.
Our research focuses on the invasive sedge Carex
pensylvanica (C. pens.), which dominates dry sand prairies. C.
pens. cover has spread as a consequence of fire suppression,
because without fire disturbance it outcompetes other native
plants in this ecosystem. The objective of our research is to
determine which experimental treatment of prescribed fire
and/or herbicide application most effectively reduces C. pens.
dominance on degraded dry sand prairies at the Newaygo
Prairies Research Natural Area in the Manistee National Forest. Dry sand prairie community range.
Methods
Newaygo Prairies Research Natural Area is located in
Newaygo County, MI. Our study area consists of 3 sites,
each with 5 experimental plots receiving a different
treatment: the control, fire, herbicide, fire then herbicide,
and herbicide then fire. Every plot was treated and seeded
in 2013. Each year since, species cover was measured
using the point-intercept method, and 25 aboveground
biomass samples were collected from each plot.
Study sites in Newaygo County, MI. The samples were sorted by species, oven-dried at 65C,
and weighed. Differences in cover and biomass among
treatments were analyzed with a one-way ANOVA, and
Tukeys honest significant difference test was used for post-
hoc comparisons between treatments. IBM SPSS 19.0.0 for
Windows was used for all statistical analyses.
Herbicide treatment plot, 9/8/2013.
Herbicide + fire treatment plot, 9/4/2013.
Research assistants collecting aboveground biomass samples.
Figure 1. Mean C. pens. cover among all treatment types. Different
letters denote a statistically significant difference at p<0.05.
effective treatment for reducing C. pens. dominance. For
Figure 2. Mean C. pens. biomass among all treatment types.
Different letters denote a statistically significant difference at p<0.05.
treatments. Herbicide only is recommended for dry sand
Figure 3. Mean native cover among all treatment types. Different
letters denote a statistically significant difference at p<0.05.
References
Aschenbach, T. A. & Ruta, P. 2015. The application of prescribed fire and herbicide to reduce Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica)
cover at the Newaygo Prairies Research Natural Area, Manistee National Forest, Michigan. Ecological Restoration 33(4):352-355.
Dry Sand Prairie Community Abstract. 2010, June. Retrieved from the Michigan Natural Features Inventory website.
Results
C. pens. cover was reduced the most by herbicide only
and herbicide then fire, with no significant difference
between the two treatments (Figure 1).
C. pens. cover was not significantly reduced by fire only,
and was nearly equal to the control (Figure 1).
C. pens. biomass was reduced the most by herbicide
only and herbicide then fire, with no significant
difference between the two treatments (Figure 2).
Native cover was lowest in the control plot, which was
significantly different from all other plots (Figure 3).
Native cover was highest in the herbicide only plot,
which was significantly different from all other plots
(Figure 3).
Native cover was also high in the fire only and herbicide
then fire plots, with no significant difference between the
two (Figure 3).
Fire then herbicide significantly reduced C. pens. cover
and biomass, and had significantly more native cover
than the control, yet was not the most effective at
removing C. pens. nor retaining natives (Figure 1,
Figure 2, Figure 3).
Discussion
The data from this year, and previous years, suggest
herbicide only and herbicide then fire are the most
effective treatments for reducing C. pens. dominance
while also retaining native cover. While fire alone retained
a considerable amount of native cover, it was the least
these reasons, dry sand prairie restorations using fire only
are discouraged, in favor of herbicide or herbicide then fire
prairie restorations because it reduces C. pens.
dominance the most, while also retaining the most native
cover, although herbicide then fire is also a viable option.
Fire then herbicide was significantly less effective than
its herbicide then fire counterpart. This indicates that the
treatment sequence has an important role in reducing C.
pens. dominance and retaining native cover. Its possible
that C. pens. was less affected because its exposure to
herbicide was minimized after its aboveground biomass
was burned away. However, native cover was significantly
reduced by fire then herbicide, the control plot being the
only plot with significantly less native cover. This indicates
that fire then herbicide is more harmful to native species
than it is to C. pens., and is discouraged in practice.