Determining appropriate fire frequencies for oak savannas in two Ontario Provincial Parks

Abstract

Prescribed burning is a popular management tool in many prairie and savanna restorations. In Ontario's globally rare oak savanna plant communities it is viewed as a means of restoring historic disturbance regimes essential for the maintenance of native species. Prescribed burn plans have been implemented at two Carolinian provincial parks, Rondeau and Pinery. Our goals are to establish a framework for the restoration of oak savanna communities that is based on the principles of restoration ecology and adaptive management. Since burning has both short and long-term effects, effective monitoring of plant community responses is essential. A key to success will be ensuring that protocols for measuring long-term plant community responses to burning, that are designed to be carried out by researchers with varying levels of field expertise yield sound data.