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27 April 1989 <br /> Alan Haney <br /> College of Natural Resources <br /> UW-Stevens Point <br /> Stevens Point, Wisconsin 54481 <br /> 715-346-4617 <br /> Structure and Dynamics of Midwest Oak Savannas. Haney and Avfelbaum <br /> STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS OF MIDWEST OAK SAVANNAS <br /> ALAN HANEY, College of Natural Resources, UW-Stevens Point, <br /> Stevens Point, Wisconsin 54481 <br /> STEVEN I. APFELBAUM, Applied Ecological Services, Inc., N673 Mill Rd., <br /> Juda, Wisconsin 53550 <br /> Abstract: Studies of 24 oak woods in the Upper Midwest are underway to determine the <br /> current stability, historic composition, and optimal management to maintain or restore <br /> structure and composition of pre-settlement oak savannas. Oak woods occur along <br /> successional, physiographic, and climatic moisture and fire gradients. Fire regularly <br /> occurred in even the most mesic oak woods and was an important factor in the evolution <br /> and development of oak savannas. Most trees, except for the youngest in woods where fire <br /> had been excluded, were in distinct cohorts correlated to gaps of several years during which <br /> the normal sequence of frequent recurring fires was interrupted. Recruitment of oaks <br /> usually occurred with sprouts from established root stocks of unknown age. Fire <br /> suppression lead to increase of more mesic species, including exotics. Expanding cover of <br /> mesic trees and shrubs suppressed oak regeneration and altered the associated shrub and <br /> herbaceous composition of oak savannas resulting in < 80% decrease in invertebrate, bird, <br /> and herbaceous species. Our observations indicate that prescribed fire shifted the structure <br /> and composition of oak woods toward pre-settlement savanna conditions and, in all <br /> instances, resulted in a net increase in species richness in all trophic levels studied. <br /> Key Words: Community structure, fire, management, Midwest, oak, prescribed fire, Quercus, <br /> savanna. <br />