SGER: Patterns and Mechanisms of Community Recovery Following Severe Fire in the Long Island Pine Barrens

这项研究将调查1995年8月一场大火烧毁了近7,000英亩土地后长岛松树荒地再生的关键初始阶段。 松树贫瘠地是研究得很好的系统，但很少有人知道的条件，导致松树或橡树占主导地位的社区在贫瘠地。 预计火灾后最初几年的事件将对确定社区组成至关重要。 将建立实验，调查生物和非生物因素的相对重要性，以及这些因素如何相互作用。 将特别注意小型哺乳动物对种子和幼苗的捕食以及树苗之间的竞争，以确定灾难性火灾后松树荒地的重新植被轨迹。 矮松平原，一个全球罕见的生态系统位于长岛松树贫瘠之地，植被重建将与烧毁（全身高）松树贫瘠之地进行比较。 数据的反应，矮和正常的松树荒地严重以下长期灭火将有助于我们评估火灾管理的选择，包括控制燃烧，松树荒地新保护的1995年的松树荒地保护法。

Gurevitch DEB-9634664 This study will investigate the critical initial phase of regeneration on the Long Island Pine Barrens following a fire in August 1995 which burned almost 7,000 acres. Pine barrens are well-studied systems, but little is known about the conditions which lead to pine or oak dominated communities in the barrens. It is anticipated that events in the early years following the fire will be crucial in determining community composition. Experiments will be established which investigate the relative importance of biotic and abiotic factors and how these factors interact. Particular attention will be paid to the importance of seed and seedling predation by small mammals and competition among tree seedlings in determining the trajectory of revegetation of the pine barrens following a catastrophic fire. Revegetation of the dwarf pine plains, a globally rare ecosystem located within the Long Island pine barrens, will be compared with that of the burned (full stature) pine barrens. Data on the response of dwarf and normal pine barrens to severe following long-term fire suppression will help our assessment of fire management options, including controlled burns, for pine barrens newly protected by the Pine Barrens Protection Act of 1995.