Grazing history, defoliation, and frequency-dependent competition: Effects on two North American grasses
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Authors: E. L. Painter, and A. J. Belsky
Date: 1993
Journal: American Journal of Botany
Volume: 76
Number: 9
Pages: 1368-1379
Summary of Methods: Painter and Belsky used Agropyron smithii and Bouteloua gracilis plants, from intensively grazed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies and from a grazing exclosure in South Dakota, to compare responses of conspecific populations with different histories of exposures to grazing and to competition for light. Defoliation more often adversely affected exclosure plants than colony plants, while interpopulation competition more often adversely affected colony plants. Results indicate that conclusions based on studies of plants in long-term exclosures may not apply to plant populations having long histories of intensive grazing. While there were differences between species, in both, these experiments provided evidence of population differentiation, resulting in morphologically dissimilar populations which responded differently to defoliation and to inter- and intrapopulation competition.
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: agropyron smithii, bouteloua gracilis, prairie dogs, cynomys ludovicianus, grazing, intercompetition, intracompetition
Annotation: In each experiment, one series of 30 pots was defoliated; the other was not. All shoots in the defoliated series were clipped 2 cm above the soil surface, the mean lowest height of grazing on prairie dog colonies. There were 3 defoliations, one every 6 weeks, and a final whole-ramet harvest, 6 weeks after the third defoliation. Season of use is not specified.
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