Increase in number of dominant plants and dominance-classes on a grassland in the northern Chihuahuan Desert
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Authors: R. P. Gibbens, and R. F. Beck
Date: 1987
Journal: Journal of Range Management
Volume: 40
Number: 2
Pages: 136-139
Summary of Methods: Permanent quadrats were established inside and outside of grazing exclosures on various vegetation types in the Jornada Experimental Range between 1915 and 1932, in order to measure shifts in dominant species composition. Between the establishment of the quadrats and 1981, the dominant species in many of the vegetation types had changed to be more shrub dominated, but the most apparent changes occurred in the black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda) vegetation type where black grama was completely absent from all plots where it was previously dominant. In some cases, dominant species in livestock exclosures did not change while in others, large shifts in species composition were recorded, indicating that livestock grazing may not be the only selection pressure in this ecosystem. Since 1932 increasing shrub species have increased the diversity of vegetation on the desert grasslands in the Jornada Experimental Range, and these changes appear to be a result of both grazing pressure and changing environmental conditions.
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: black grama, bouteloua eriopoda, tobosa, hilaria mutica, burrograss, scleropogon brevifolius, shrub invasion, jornada experimental range, new mexico
Annotation: No grazing intensity was given in the article but the methods referred to quadrats that were placed in grazing exclosures and the discussion refers to changes in species composition due to grazing. Season of use is not specified.
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