Fire induced reproductive mechanisms of a Symphoricarpos (Caprifoliaceae) shrub after dormant season burning

Botanical Studies

Table 1 Schedule of prescribed fire and measurements of Symphoricarpos orbiculatus in the Grand River Grasslands, USA, 2007-2013

	Year
Treatment	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Patch-burn grazed pastures (3 pastures total delineated into 3 patches per pasture)
Pyland North
Patch A	fire	-	-	fire	-, m₁, m₂	-, m₁	fire, m₁, m₂
Patch B	-	fire	-	-	fire, m₁, m₂	-, m₁	-, m₁, m₂
Patch C	-	-	fire	-	-, m₁, m₂	fire, m₁	-, m₁, m₂
Pyland South
Patch A	fire	-	fire*	fire	-, m₁, m₂	-, m₁	fire, m₁, m₂
Patch B	-	fire	fire*	-	fire, m₁, m₂	-, m₁	-, m₁, m₂
Patch C	-	-	fire	-	-, m₁, m₂	fire, m1	-, m₁, m₂
Ringgold South
Patch A	fire	-	-	fire	-, m₁, m₂	-, m₁	fire, m₁, m₂
Patch B	-	fire	-	-	fire, m₁, m₂	-, m₁	-, m₁, m₂
Patch C	-	-	fire	-	-, m₁, m₂	fire, m₁	-, m₁, m₂
Graze-and-burn pastures (3 pastures total)
Gilleland	-	-	fire	-	-, m₁	fire, m₁	-, m₁
Lee Trail	-	-	fire	-	-, m₁	fire, m₁	-, m₁
Pyland West	-	-	fire	-	-, m₁	fire, m₁	-, m₁
Unburned pastures (3 pastures total)
Hog Farm	-	-	-	-	-, m₁, m₂	-	-, d
Kellerton South	-	-	-	-	-, m₁, m₂	-	-, d
Richardson West	-	-	-	-	-, m₁, m₂	-	-, d

Fire: − = no fire; fire = prescribed fire; fire* = escaped out of the intended burn patch and burned remainder of pasture; d = disrupted (we had less control over the unburned treatment and when we returned in 2013 to measure a second assessment of unburned pastures, they had all either been burned or mowed). (d = disrupted).
Measurements: m₁ = Symphoricarpos orbiculatus maximum ramet height, ramet maximum canopy diameter, stems per ramet measured as number of vertical live stems arising from the same root crown; m₂ = new aerial layering stems.
Treatments: Patch-burn grazing (PBG) where one-third of a pasture (the patch) is burned and cattle have full access to the pasture, Graze and burn (GAB) where the entire pasture is burned every third year (2012 was the burn year) and cattle have full access to the pasture, and Not burned for more than three years with no grazing. Treatments were in place starting in 2007 so all patches and pastures had a consistent elapsed time since fire (0.3, 1, 2 years since fire).