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Home → Publications → Native Plants: Propagating and Planting → Initial Observations on the Effects of Fire on Willamette Valley Wetland Prairie Vegetation

Initial Observations on the Effects of Fire on Willamette Valley Wetland Prairie Vegetation

Significant and precipitous declines in the quantity and quality of wetland prairie habitat in the Willamette Valley have led land managers to reintroduce prescribed fire as a tool of habitat restoration. It is believed that anthropogenic fires influenced the structure and function of prairies and that modern fire repression has contributed to their degradation. This paper provides initial observations of a study intended to evaluate the impacts of prescribed fires on vegetation at the Fern Ridge Research Natural Area (RNA) in Eugene, Oregon. The objective of this study is to compare species frequency data collected in 1998, with data collected in 1988, 1989, and 1990 as part of another study. Final results are pending, but initial observations suggest that species responses to burns vary widely. Explicit restoration goals and inclusion of other biotic and abiotic factors will be necessary for effective use of prescribed burns in wet prairie restoration.


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Author(s): Trevor Taylor

Publication: Native Plants: Propagating and Planting