Soil seed bank of a semiarid Texas grassland under three long- term (36 years) grazing regimes
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Authors: R. J. Kinucan, and F. E. Smeins
Date: 1992
Journal: American Midland Naturalist
Volume: 128
Number: 1
Pages: 11-21
Summary of Methods: Seed bank density and species composition were compared among ungrazed pastures and pastures managed with continuous heavy or moderate deferred rotational grazing for 36 years in a Texas desert grassland. The density and species richness of the seedbank tended to be greatest in the ungrazed pasture, intermediate in the rotationally grazed pasture and lowest in the continuously grazed pasture, however, the differences were sometimes small and not significant. The species composition of the seed bank did differ among grazing treatments; the seed bank in the ungrazed pasture was dominated by mid- and late-seral perennial monocot species whereas the seed bank in the continuously grazed pasture was dominated by early seral annual dicot species and the seed bank in the rotationally grazed pasture contained all seral species and was a combination of annuals, perennials, monocots and dicots. Based on these results the authors concluded that grazing management affects seed bank dynamics in this Texas desert grassland and that present grazing management will impact succession of this grassland following future disturbances.
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: grazing system, deferred rotation grazing, continuous grazing, succession, species composition, seed densities, hilaria belangeri
Annotation: The area has a long history of heavy continuous grazing by large herbivores. Before 1900, grazing intensities were as high as 2 ha/AU/year by cattle, sheep, and goats. From 190-1948, stocking rates of approximately 3.7/AU/ha were common. In 1948, 2 replicates of 3 long-term grazing treatments were chosen for this study: a heavy continuous (HC) grazing treatment (32 ha each) maintained at 4.5-5.3 ha/AU/year; a moderate deferred rotation (MDR) grazing treatment (24 ha each) at 6.2 ha/AU/year until 1969 when the rate changed to 7.7 ha/AU/year; and an ungrazed exclosure treatment with no livestock grazing. Exclosures did not exclude small mammals.
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