The effect of prescribed burning on the abundance of Fragaria virginiana (wild strawberry) and Camassia quamash (blue camas) in Glacial Heritage Preserve
Presentation Abstract
Glacial Heritage Preserve (GHP) is a prairie located in Thurston County Washington, which also includes forested areas. A process using controlled burns has been implemented over the last 15 or so years to help maintain the GHP. The purpose of our investigation was to determine the effects of controlled burns on the abundance of species Fragaria virginiana (wild strawberry) and Camassia quamash (blue camas) because both of these species were in bloom in the GHP during our data collection dates. Our data were collected in the odd-numbered burn years from 2001 to 2011 as well as a control site that was never subjected to burning. The data were collected using a random walk method within the burn areas. Our hypothesis was that we expected to find that if we collect data of abundance and frequency for species C. quamash and F. virginiana in varying burn area years, then the species will be more abundant and exhibit higher frequency in the areas that were more recently burned, because the soil will be more nutrient-rich from the burning of other plants, allowing C. quamash and F. virginiana to thrive more easily. We determined through our investigation that C. quamash thrive in areas where the burn occurred more recently, and the F. virginiana are more abundant in areas where the burn on the area was less recent. The average abundance of both C. quamash and F. virginiana to be higher on Mima mounds than in the swales between them. A question we were not able to address but could be researched in future studies include examining how areas that have been previously burned at multiple or varying times affect the abundance of a certain species.
Session Title
Session S-09E: Marine, Freshwater and Terrestrial Species: Threats and Conservation
Conference Track
Species and Food Webs
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
1-5-2014 5:00 PM
End Date
1-5-2014 6:30 PM
Location
Room 6C
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Strawberries--Effect of fires on--Washington (State)--Glacial Heritage Preserve; Camassia quamash--Effect of fires on--Washington (State)--Glacial Heritage Preserve; Prescribed burning--Washington (State)--Glacial Heritage Preserve
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Glacial Heritage Preserve (Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
The effect of prescribed burning on the abundance of Fragaria virginiana (wild strawberry) and Camassia quamash (blue camas) in Glacial Heritage Preserve
Room 6C
Glacial Heritage Preserve (GHP) is a prairie located in Thurston County Washington, which also includes forested areas. A process using controlled burns has been implemented over the last 15 or so years to help maintain the GHP. The purpose of our investigation was to determine the effects of controlled burns on the abundance of species Fragaria virginiana (wild strawberry) and Camassia quamash (blue camas) because both of these species were in bloom in the GHP during our data collection dates. Our data were collected in the odd-numbered burn years from 2001 to 2011 as well as a control site that was never subjected to burning. The data were collected using a random walk method within the burn areas. Our hypothesis was that we expected to find that if we collect data of abundance and frequency for species C. quamash and F. virginiana in varying burn area years, then the species will be more abundant and exhibit higher frequency in the areas that were more recently burned, because the soil will be more nutrient-rich from the burning of other plants, allowing C. quamash and F. virginiana to thrive more easily. We determined through our investigation that C. quamash thrive in areas where the burn occurred more recently, and the F. virginiana are more abundant in areas where the burn on the area was less recent. The average abundance of both C. quamash and F. virginiana to be higher on Mima mounds than in the swales between them. A question we were not able to address but could be researched in future studies include examining how areas that have been previously burned at multiple or varying times affect the abundance of a certain species.
