Effects of bison grazing on Andropogon gerardii and Panicum virgatum in burned and unburned tallgrass prairie
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Authors: M. A. Vinton, and D. C. Hartnett
Date: 1992
Journal: Oecologia
Volume: 90
Number: 3
Pages: 374-382
Summary of Methods: Vinton and Hartnett examined the response of big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) to bison (Bison bison) grazing and clipping in burned and unburned Kansas tallgrass prairie. While both switchgrass and big bluestem tillers exhibited higher relative growth rates after grazing and clipping for 2-weeks following spring treatment, affected tillers did not regain the stature of ungrazed tillers. Moreover, big bluestem tillers grazed during the first year of the study had a lower relative growth and survival rates than ungrazed tillers in the following year. The relative growth rate of switchgrass following defoliation was similar on burned and unburned sites, while bluestem exhibited a significantly higher rate in the absence of burning.
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, bison, bison bison, fire, andropogon gerardii, panicum virgatum
Annotation: Experiment 1: treatments included ungrazed tillers, grazed tillers, and clipped tillers. Experiment 2: three treatments were 1) tillers on a patch repeatedly and uniformly grazed in 1988, 2) tillers adjacent to the heavily grazed patch that were lightly/infrequently defoliated, and 3) nearby tillers in adjacent ungrazed sites that were similar in topography and identical in burn regimes to the grazed sites.
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