Range Forum

Morgan Russell

Morgan Russell, Ph.D. candidate

Mark your calendars for the next Range Forum. Morgan Russell is a Ph.D. student working with Dr. Amy Ganguli and Dr. Lance Vermeire on the effects of fire frequency and season of fire on axillary bud banks of native perennial grasses in the Northern Great Plains.  The effects of fire on plant community dynamics in the northern Great Plains is typically assessed from an aboveground perspective with little emphasis placed toward vegetative reproductive structures located beneath the soil surface, commonly called the bud bank.  The bud bank is the primary source of recruitment for new growth, providing 99% of new tiller formation, but is rarely included in assessments of fire effects.  Morgan will share her resource approach emphasizing the need for an improved understanding of bud bank dynamics and will present results from her research on fire frequency and fire season effects on bud banks in the northern Great Plains.  Applying a belowground assessment of vegetative reproduction potential of bud banks may bridge the gap between reproductive strategies and effects of fire frequency and season of fire.