The use of prescribed burns to suppress woody invasive species like common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) in temperate deciduous forests is often limited by fine fuel availability. This is particularly problematic in the period following mechanical removal of buckthorn, when fire has the greatest probability of preventing buckthorn from re-establishing dominance through remaining small individuals, resprouts, or seeds. Here, we test whether revegetating by seeding C₃ grasses and forbs enhances fine fuel availability and subsequent spread and impact of prescribed burns in two semi-open forests (8–24% tree canopy light transmission) in Minnesota. We found seeding increased cover of grass litter by more than 12-fold and decreased bare ground by 73%. Consequently, seeded areas enhanced fire spread by 85% and resulted in a three-fold increase in the proportion of wood pyrometers fully consumed. One year after burning, seeded plots had 72% less woody cover compared to adjacent unseeded plots, and burned subplots had 33% less woody cover compared to adjacent subplots that were not burned. Our findings support the use of herbaceous seeding (particularly of Elymus grasses) in buckthorn removal projects. The positive effects of seeding on burn performance via increased fine fuel quantity outweighed potential negative effects of understory phenology on fuel moisture content and flammability. Thus, a combined approach of seeding and burning is likely to offer enhanced control of small buckthorn stems compared to either passive restoration or seeding alone.

North American tallgrass prairie evolved with regular fire set by Indigenous people and grazing from large herbivores, including the plains bison (Bison bison). In contrast to uniform effects of prescribed fire, bison graze selectively, creating increased heterogeneity on the landscape. We examined plant community responses to reintroduced bison grazing in high-diversity native and restored tallgrass prairie in Illinois, USA. We evaluated plant community diversity and structure in paired grazed and ungrazed (fenced) plots. After 5 y of grazing at a relatively low target stocking rate of 1 animal unit per 5.2 ha (13 acres), there were no differences in plant community diversity, composition, nonnative:native species ratio, or visual obstruction readings between grazed and ungrazed plots. An interaction exists (or was found) between plant community type and grazing in which grazed savanna plots had greater grass relative abundance compared to ungrazed plots. Ongoing monitoring will evaluate long-term trends.

An environmental history of Eagle Valley Nature Preserve, situated among the bluffs of the Mississippi River in southwest Wisconsin, USA, describes a dynamic landscape with multi-century ecological trajectories shaped by the interacting effects of climate and human engagement with the land. Crossdated tree-ring establishment dates of cut stumps of eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) trees hint at possible afforestation in the 1300s and 1400s CE following reorganization of the Mississippian mound-building culture. Historical observations from the seventeenth century describe an open landscape with only scattered trees restricted to ravines and other areas protected from passing prairie fires. Outer ring dates on redcedar stumps indicate early 1800s harvest dates and illustrate impacts of European landuse that occurred decades before the General Land Office Survey at this location. Oak (Quercus macrocarpa and Q. alba) and eastern redcedar establishment dates in the mid-1800s suggest a change in disturbance regime related to shifting landuse initiated by European colonization, while twentieth century aerial imagery illustrate a continued trajectory toward closed-canopy forest and simplified landscape patterns. Increasing moisture availability over recent decades and the cessation of grazing likely amplified these changes. Based on tree-ring data and field observations, it appears likely that the forests covering much of Eagle Valley today represent the first closed-canopy system to occur at the site in at least a millennium. Current land stewardship activities to maintain and expand prairie and savanna communities are working against a multi-century trend toward increasing forest cover and landscape closure at a regional scale.

In 2013 and 2014, several methods of managing dense skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) using aquatic glyphosate were tested in a wetland in Carroll County, Maryland, as part of an adaptive management plan for enhancing bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) habitat. Using a backpack sprayer with a 3–5% aquatic glyphosate solution and surfactant in late May to mid-June was found to be effective in reducing skunk cabbage coverage without reducing the vegetation species richness in the treated areas.