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Analyze Water Isotopes to Determine Impacts of Burning in Mesic Bur Oak Forest
| GLNF CESU Project #: |
MTU-NPS-12 |
| TA#: |
J6480070586 |
| Partners: |
Michigan Technological University and the National Park Service |
| Project Contact: |
Rodney Chimner (rchimner@mtu.edu) |
| Agency Contact: |
Jesse Bolli (jesse_bolli@nps.gov) |
| Project Funding: |
$20,059 (fy08: $3,000; fy07: $17,059) |
| Project Dates: |
06/21/2007- 04/01/2010 |
| Project Abstract: |
Managers at Homestead National Monument of America would like to use prescribed fire to create a more natural transition zone between the restored tallgrass prairie and the riparian woodland. Before managers allow fire into the woodland more information is needed about the hydrology of the woodland. If water source for woodland vegetation is Cub Creek, recent downcutting and channelization of the creek may have reduced the amount of water available. Fire may then have an adverse impact on the vegetation and should continue to entirely to be excluded from the woodland. If the source of water is rain and runoff, fire, a natural part of the tallgrass ecosystem, should not have any adverse impact on the woodland and should be allowed to enter it. Chemical makeup of the rainwater, groundwater and creek will be compared to the vetetative material to determine the source of the water for plants. |
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