Effects of fire on rodents in tallgrass prairie of the Flint Hills region of eastern Kansas [1]

Fire in tallgrass prairie reduces the amount of litter on the soil surface and enhances primary productivity in the first year following a fire. If the site is left unburned and ungrazed, a gradual increase in litter depth and a decrease in primary productivity occurs during the first few years following a fire. Based on these habitat changes and the habitat selection and food habits of prairie rodents, e.g., Peromyscus maniculatus, Reithrodontomys megalotis and Microtus ochrogaster, major shifts in rodent density should occur the first few years following a fire. We trapped four sites, each representing a different year of a 4-year cycle of burning, to analyze the effect of periodic fires on rodent populations in the tallgrass prairie. We also trapped a study site that is burned annually for comparison of the effect of annual fires to the 4-year cycle. Data are also presented to examine the effects of time since fire and fire frequency on rodent population