Cars, cows, and checkerspot butterflies: Nitrogen deposition and management of nutrient-poor grasslands for a threatened species
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Authors: S. B. Weiss
Date: 1999
Journal: Conservation Biology
Volume: 13
Number: 6
Pages: 1476-1486
Summary of Methods: Weiss examined the role of livestock in maintaining nutrient-poor serpentine soil grasslands in California as suitable habitat for the threatened bay checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas cditya baycnsis). After 5 years of exclusion, reintroduction of moderate grazing successfully reduced invasion by annual grasses. Grass cover was reduced from 75% to 45% over 3 years of grazing, increasing the density of plantain (Plantago spp.) and other butterfly host forbs. While some serpentine grasslands remain intact, in areas of high atmospheric nitrogen deposition, moderate grazing appears to reduce invasion of annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) and oatgrass (Avena spp.) species.
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: nitrogen, plant growth, butterfly populations, grasslands, grazing
Annotation: None
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