Management practices in tallgrass prairie: Large- and small-scale experimental effects on species composition
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Authors: D. J. Gibson, T. R. Seastedt, and J. M. Briggs
Date: 1993
Journal: Journal of Applied Ecology
Volume: 30
Number: 2
Pages: 247-255
Summary of Methods: Authors used a multiscale approach by studying the effects of soil type/fertilizer, burning, or mowing on species composition within both large- (10,000 m2) and small-scale (100 m2) experimental plots in the tallgrass prairie of Kansas. On the large-scale plots soil type was shown to be the important discriminator of plant communities with a separation of soil subgroups (Pachic Argiustolls and Udic Argiustolls) at the first classification level. As management treatments, burning and mowing differed in their effect on species richness, especially the representation and number of exotic species. Species composition of the small-scale plots was mainly affected by mowing, followed by fertilizer, then burning. Burning increased the abundance of some species (Andropogon scoparius) and decreased richness, but as an interaction with mowing or fertilizer. At the larger scale, mowing allowed the incursion of exotic species (Andropogon bladhii). Consistency at various spatial scales should only occur if the underlying mechanisms (soil depth, etc.) responsible for the variables of interest remain constant over those scales; a condition that is unlikely to be met under field 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: grassland, burning, classification, mowing, soil, species composition
Annotation: The study area has been traditionally grazed by cattle or cut for hay. Both study areas were ungrazed throughout the duration of the study. Effects examined at two spatial scales: At the larger scale, the effects of 12 years of mowing and burning on five soil types were examined in 45 large-scale plots of 10,000m2. Each plot was subject to April burning at 1-,2-,and 4-year intervals, annual burning at three seasons, no burning or mowing at three seasons: 27 soil-treatment combinations in all. Burning was conducted in March, April, or November. Mowing occurred in March, July, or November. Each plot sampled in late spring, mid-summer, and late summer At the smaller scale, 64 plots of 100m2 were established in 1986. Half of the plots within each block were burned annually in early May; the rest were left unburned. Within each block, eight of the plots were mowed with the hay removed; the rest were left unmowed. Plots were mowed twice a year in summer in 1986 and 1987, and once a year in June thereafter. Does not specify grazing intensity or herbage removal rate.
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