Fire Science Workshop: “Fire Management, Japanese Stiltgrass, and Ecosystem Services”

February 20, 2014 9:00 AM – 3 PM CT
Presentations 9 AM – 12 PM, Fieldtrip 1 – 3 PM (CT)

Shawnee National Forest Supervisor’s Office, Harrisburg, Illinois (MAP)

Oak Woodlands & Forests Fire Consortium, the Shawnee National Forest, and the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois are hosting this workshop to explore opportunities and limitations to prescribed fire use in southern Illinois and Indiana, particularly associated with Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum). Join researchers, fire practitioners, and land managers for a series of fire science presentations and a fieldtrip to a nearby Japanese stiltgrass infested site.

Attendance is limited to 60 attendees

Register online: http://www.oakfirescience.com/workshops/

Hosted by: Oak Woodlands & Forests Fire Consortium, University of Illinois, Shawnee National Forest

Presenters and topics:

Dr. Sarah Emery (University of Louisville)
Demographic responses of Microstegium Vimineum to prescribed fires and herbicide

Dr. Jennifer Fraterrigo (University of Illinois)
Effects of prescribed fire and Microstegium vimineum invasion on nitrogen cycling

Bruce Henry (Southern Illinois University)
Assessing Illinois prescribed fire community needs and limitations to expanding wildland fire programs

Tyler Refsland (University of Illinois)
The use of plant functional traits to predict the impact of fire management on ecosystem services

Stephanie Wagner (University of Illinois)
Fire effects on the invasive annual grass Microstegium vimineum