Date of Award
Spring 2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS) in Biology
Department
Biology
Committee Chair
Tenzing Ingty
Abstract
Southeastern prairies are highly biodiverse yet increasingly threatened by land-use change, fire suppression, and habitat fragmentation. These disturbance-dependent systems rely on periodic fire and grazing to maintain plant diversity and ecosystem function. This study evaluates prairie restoration strategies by testing predictions from the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis and the Patch Mosaic Burn Hypothesis. The study site was divided into three treatments: prescribed burned only (B), prescribed burned with mowing (BM) to simulate grazing, and an undisturbed control (C). A standardized mix of native plant seeds was broadcast across all treatments. Ecosystem health and function were evaluated using plant community diversity and nativity, aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), and belowground net primary productivity (BNPP). ANOVA results showed significantly higher plant diversity (using species richness, Shannon, and Simpson indices) in disturbed treatments with the highest in the BM treatment, followed by B treatment, and the lowest diversity in control plots. The B plot had the highest number of species; however, the BM treatment supported a much higher proportion of native species, with the highest ratio of native to non-native in the BM plot. These patterns support predictions of the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis, suggesting that disturbance reduces competitive dominance and promotes coexistence among native prairie species. No NPP values were found to be significantly different. BNPP was highest in C and B plots as their mean values were nearly identical, indicating increased allocation to root biomass and potential enhancement of soil carbon storage and nutrient acquisition. In contrast, BNPP was the lowest in BM plots. This pattern suggests that prescribed burns alone may stimulate belowground biomass allocation by increasing nutrient availability and favoring deep-rooted native species. In contrast, the combination of fire and mowing may represent a higher disturbance intensity that limits root investment, potentially due to biomass removal and reduced carbohydrate storage. ANPP was highest in the control plots. The reduced ANPP observed in disturbed plots may reflect short-term biomass removal and reallocation following fire and mowing, rather than long-term declines in ecosystem function.
Overall, these findings demonstrate that managed disturbance enhances plant diversity and native dominance, key goals of southeastern prairie restoration, while undisturbed conditions may favor aboveground biomass at the expense of biodiversity and belowground carbon allocation.
Included in
Biodiversity Commons, Biology Commons, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Population Biology Commons