Effects of grazing on restoration of southern mixed prairie soils
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Authors: S. D. Fuhlendorf, H. Zhang, T. R. Tunnell, D. M. Engle, and A. F. Cross
Date: 2002
Journal: Restoration Ecology
Volume: 10
Number: 2
Pages: 401-407
Summary of Methods: Soil and vegetation attributes from native grassland and restored cultivated (recovered 30 years) sites under three different long-term grazing regimes (heavy, moderate, ungrazed) at the Marvin Klemme Range Research Station (35° 25’ N; 99° 05’ W) in Oklahoma were compared. Moderate and heavy grazing treatments were set at stocking rates recommended by the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, while the ungrazed treatment included a 16-ha area not grazed in the past 50 years. Vegetative cover was measured at the end of each growing season using the Daubenmire method and 12 to 111 soil sampling within each treatment replicate were taken and analyzed for pH, total nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, organic carbon, organic matter and carbon to nitrogen ratios.
Article Summary / Main Points: Soil nitrate levels were higher on moderately grazed than heavily graze grasslands, but were also higher on native than restored grasslands. Within grazing treatments, soil carbon, total nitrogen, organic matter, phosphorus and potassium were all higher on native sites than on cultivated and restored sites. Carbon-to-nitrogen ratios and soil pH were the highest on sites that had been cultivated. Tall-grass cover showed the greatest richness on moderate grazing treatments and with significantly more tall-grass abundance on reseeded sites than on native sites. Grasslands that had a history of cultivation had lower percent cover of mid-grasses, short-grasses, annuals, shrubs and forb when compared to uncultivated grasslands. Bare ground was found to be influenced by a history of cultivation rather than by grazing treatments. Grazing was found to alter the extent of recovery of these grassland soils as indicated by the interaction between grazing intensity and cultivation history on soil nitrogen and carbon.
Vegetation Types: Sagebrush Steppe
MLRA Ecoregions: 78C Central Rolling Red Plains, Eastern Part
Agrovoc Control Words: Carbon sequestration Rangelands Grazing systems
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: carbon sequestration, nitrogen conservation reserve program, grazing, restoration, mixed prairie soils, great plains
Annotation: These results are applicable across many grasslands as grazing altered the extent of recovery of these grassland soils, even though the magnitude of this influence will change across soil types and precipitation zones. Management of livestock grazing is likely to be a critical factor in determining the potential restoration of mixed prairies. However, it is evident from this study that regardless of grazing intensity, restoring native prairie soils requires many decades and may possibly require external inputs to restore organic matter, soil carbon, and soil nitrogen.
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