The effect of fire on gas exchange and aboveground production in Spartina pectinata wetlands

TitleThe effect of fire on gas exchange and aboveground production in Spartina pectinata wetlands
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication1993
AuthorsJohnson, SR, Knapp, AK
JournalWetlands
Volume13
Pagination299 -303
Accession NumberKNZ00410
Keywordsfire, gas exchange, prairie wetlands, production, Spartina pectinata, tallgrass prairie
Abstract

Photosynthetic and growth responses ofSpartina pectinata were compared in annually and biennially burned wetlands in a northeastern Kansas tallgrass prairie. Photosynthetic CO2 uptake was consistently higher inSpartina pectinata in annually burned wetlands, and there was a seasonal difference in maximum photosynthetic rates. Plants in annually burned wetlands reached a maximum photosynthetic rate of 38.2 μmol m−2 s−1 in late spring, while maximum photosynthesis in plants of biennially burned wetlands was 28.6 μmol m−2 s−1 in late summer. Culm density in these wetlands was not affected by fire; however, aboveground biomass production, inflorescence density and plant height at anthesis were significantly greater in annually burned wetlands. These results indicate thatSpartina pectinata may be a fire-dependent species, with post-fire responses similar to the dominant grasses in tallgrass prairie as well as otherSpartina congeners.

DOI10.1007/BF03161296