Plant and Soil Water Potentials Following Fire in a Northern Mixed Grassland

Abstract

Leaf water potential, osmotic potential, and soil moisture were measured in mixed grassland during the growing season following an October fire. Plant and soil water stress increased near the end of the May-August period in both burned and control sites. Potentials in nothern wheatgrass and junegrass become lower in burned than in control plots as the growing season progressed. Increased plant water stress was judged sufficient to account for the reductions in productivity which have been observed after fire.