Effects of herbage removal on productivity of selected High-Sierra meadow community types
-
-
Authors: T. J. Stohlgren, S. H. DeBenedetti, and D. J. Parsons
Date: 1989
Journal: Environmental Management
Volume: 13
Number: 4
Pages: 485-491
Summary of Methods: Stohlgren et al. investigate the effects of herbage removal on three subalpine meadow plant communities in the Rock Creek drainage of Sequoia National Park, California. There is evidence of compensatory growth of aboveground biomass resulting from continued herbage removal in the Carex exserta (short-hair sedge) type. However, declines in productivity in the recovery year suggest there may be long-term deleterious effects on overall plant vigor. There is stronger evidence that herbage removal had negative effects on aboveground productivity in the Eleocharis (spike-rush)-Calamagrostis (short-hair grass) type and Deschampsia (tufted hairgrass)-Carex (sedge) community types. These data suggest that long-term, intensive herbage removal may be more detrimental to moderately mesic and mesic subalpine meadow community types than to xeric types.
Article Summary / Main Points: None
Vegetation Types:
MLRA Ecoregions:
Agrovoc Control Words: Riparian zones Rangelands Wildlife
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: grazing, sierra nevada, stock use, subalpine meadows, clipping, basal cover, grasses, spikes, rush
Annotation: Each quadrant was assigned one of four clipping treatments: Treatment (A) representing season-long herbage removal; Treatment (B) mid-and late season herbage removal only; Treatment (C) early and mid-season herbage removal only; and Treatment (D) late season herbage removal only.
-
Get article
Cite article with DOI
-