Grazing effects on germinable seeds on the fescue prairie
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Authors: W. D. Willms, and D. A. Quinton
Date: 1995
Journal: Journal of Range Management
Volume: 48
Number: 5
Pages: 423-430
Summary of Methods: Authors examined vegetation, surface seed and soil seed bank composition in rough fescue grasslands under grazing intensities, varying from no grazing to heavy grazing. Seeds in the soil were least abundant and surface seeds were most abundant on heavily grazed plots. However, under heavy grazing, seed composition was dominated by early seral whitlow-grass seeds, and the number of rough fescue and forb seeds was very low. Grass seeds were greatest at the surface, while forb seeds where more commonly found in the soil. As soil depth increased, the number of germinable seeds decreased. The effects of light and moderate grazing were minimal compared to the effects of heavy grazing. Heavy grazing impacted the seral stage of the grasslands by reducing the presence of rough fescue in the vegetation and seed bank and making recovery to a late seral state difficult.
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: soil depth, season, native species, introduced species, species composition, grazing intensity, seed bank
Annotation: None
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