Water relations of Agropyron smithii and Bouteloua gracilis and community evapotranspiration following long-term grazing by prairie dogs
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Authors: T. A. Day, and J. K. Detling
Date: 1994
Journal: American Midland Naturalist
Volume: 132
Number: 2
Pages: 381-392
Summary of Methods: The effects of intensive grazing by black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) on water relations and community evapotranspiration on a northern-mixed prairie near Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota (37˚ 30’ N; 103˚ 17’ W), was examined on a heavily grazed, colonized site and on a nearby lightly grazed, uncolonized site. Aboveground production, leaf water-relations, canopy air temperature, wind speed and relative humidity were measured at each site.
Article Summary / Main Points: Total aboveground plant biomass and plant stature were lower on the colony. Soil moisture content of the upper 10 cm was higher on the colony in June and July, but lower in August. Leaf conductance to water vapor and water potentials for the dominant grasses, A. smithii and B. gracilis were higher on the colonized site than the un-colonized site. Evapotranspiration rates in the afternoon were lower on the colony in June but higher in July and August as soil water became limited. Greater soil water availability on the colony early in the year was likely the result of smaller transpiring leaf mass and area. Intensive grazing by prairie dogs lead to a warmer canopy microclimate with higher evaporative demand though any detrimental effects of plant water status were offset by greater available soil moisture, especially later in the day and season.
Vegetation Types: All Grasslands
MLRA Ecoregions: 62 Black Hills
Agrovoc Control Words: Grazing Rangelands Rodents
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: prairie dogs, cynomys ludovicianus, agropyron smithii, bouteloua gracilis, grazing, water vapor, water potential
Annotation: The findings of this study are widely applicable across many vegetation types that have been colonized by prairie dogs but also by other burrowing rodents. Improved water potential and greater active growing forage late in the growing season may be part of the reason for preferential grazing of prairie dog town sites by wild ungulates especially late in the season.
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