Response of semi-desert grasslands invaded by non-native grasses to altered disturbance regimes
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Authors: E. L. Geiger, and G. R. McPherson
Date: 2005
Journal: Journal of Biogeography
Volume: 32
Number: 5
Pages: 895-902
Summary of Methods: One of the goals of the Buenos Aries National Wildlife Refuge is to preserve native vegetation on grasslands that have been invaded by mesquite (Prosopis velutina) and many non-native species, including Eragrostis lehmanniana. This study reports the effects of the refuge's management actions, the initiation of a prescribed fire program and the elimination of cattle grazing, on grassland composition for 15 years. The authors found that Eragrostis lehmanniana was one of the two most abundant species on the refuge and that its abundance was related to soil composition and precipitation and that the removal of livestock grazing and prescribed fires had no effect on grassland species composition during this long term study. These results suggest that the grasslands at the Buenos Aries National Wildlife Refuge will not recover to native species dominated grasslands under the current management and that the grasslands may have passed a threshold from which recovery will require more management inputs.
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: climate, eragrostis lehmanniana, fire, grazing, long-term monitoring, non-native, semi-desert grassland, arizona
Annotation: Historic grazing records indicate that the area had been heavily grazed prior to establishment of a refuge at the study site in 1985 when cattle grazing was removed and a prescribed fire program was initiated. Basal and foliar cover of each species were measured along each of 38, 30-m transects at the end of the growing season (August-November) in 1987, 1989, 1993, 1997, and 2002
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