Influence of Land-Use Legacies Following Shrub Reduction and Seeding of Big Sagebrush Sites

Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) plant communities often require management to reduce shrub density and rehabilitate understory vegetation. We studied vegetation responses to a two-way chain harrow treatment and broadcast seeding of 12 herbaceous species at eight Wyoming big sagebrush (A. tridentata Nutt. subsp. wyomingensis Beetle & Young) sites. These sites differed in land-use history; five were cultivated for dryland wheat production during the 1950 ? 1980s and then seeded with introduced forage grasses (C-S), while three had not been exposed to this land-use legacy (non C-S). Our objective was to evaluate whether the C-S legacy influences the magnitude of vegetation change following contemporary treatment. Before treatment, C-S sites had lower sagebrush cover, higher dead sagebrush cover, and higher broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae [Pursh] Britton & Rusby) cover than adjacent non C-S sites. Plant community change 3 years after treatment, determined with multivariate ordination analysis of species composition, varied between site histories, and response to treatment was most strongly correlated with reductions in sagebrush cover, increases in perennial grasses, and increases in 10 other herbaceous species—including some undesirable species and four that were seeded in 2010. Five years after treatment, mature sagebrush cover remained reduced for both land-use histories, yet density of sagebrush seedlings and broom snakeweed increased in C-S sites during the second and third years after treatment. In addition, perennial forb cover increased for C-S sites, while perennial grass biomass increased for non C-S sites. Our results emphasize that broad variability in plant community responses to sagebrush reduction and seeding is possible within the same ecological site classification and that legacy effects due to the combination of past cultivation and seeding should be considered when planning restoration projects, including the consideration that seeding may not always be necessary on C-S sites.     

Influence of Experience on Browsing Sagebrush by Cattle and Its Impacts on Plant Community Structure

Mechanical and chemical methods used historically to rejuvenate sagebrush-steppe landscapes are cost prohibitive. A low-cost alternative is to fashion systems of management in which locally adapted animals use sagebrush as fall and winter forage to reduce feeding costs and to enhance the growth of grasses and forbs during spring and summer. We evaluated the practicality of fall browsing of sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata, ssp. wyomingensis) by cattle. To do so, we assessed 1) the foraging behavior and body weights of cattle with varying levels of experience browsing sagebrush, and 2) the ensuing responses of sagebrush, grasses, and forbs to cattle grazing. In spatially and temporally replicated trials from 2007 to 2009, cattle were challenged to eat sagebrush. Pregnant cows with calves (2007 and 2008), bred yearling heifers (2008), and first-calf heifer/calf pairs (2009), supplemented with protein and energy, learned to eat sagebrush as a significant portion of their diet (up to 63% of scans recorded during grazing). Experienced animals consistently ate more sagebrush and lost less weight, or gained more weight, than naive animals in 2008 and 2009 (P < 0.05). Cover, production, and percent composition of grasses and forbs maintained or dropped slightly from 2007 to 2008 but then rebounded sharply in 2009 to much greater levels than in 2007 or 2008 (P < 0.05). A corresponding reduction in shrub cover, production, and percent composition accompanied the increase in forbs and grasses (P < 0.05). Our research suggests grazing by cattle during fall and winter can be effective, biologically and economically, and can lead to habitat renovation and resilience by creating locally adapted systems of management in ways that landscape manipulations with chemical and mechanical treatments or prescribed fire cannot.     

东祁连山杜鹃灌丛草地物种多样性特征及干扰因子

在海拔3080~3610 m范围内,研究东祁连山杜鹃灌丛在不同海拔高度的物种多样性特征及砍伐、滑坡干扰对其影响。结果表明:Shannon-Wiener指数随海拔高度先升后降,最高值出现在3330 m处,为2.537,最低值则出现于海拔最高的3610m处,为2.109,两个峰值相差0.428,下降幅度为16.9%;丰富度指数与之相似,以3330m最高,为3.672,在3610m处最低,为2.2,峰值相差1.472,下降幅度为40.1%;均匀度的变化规律有所不同,最高值出现在海拔3400m处,为0.793,最低值则出现于较低的3160m处,为0.725,两个峰值相差0.068,仅下降8.6%,变幅很小;总体来看,在3230~3400m之间,群落的物种多样性、丰富度和均匀度均较高;较高和较低海拔地段,物种多样性较低,丰富度和均匀度相应偏低;群落在自然应力的作用下发生滑坡后,其Shannon-Wiener指数、丰富度和均匀度均有较大程度下降,比对照分别下降46.9%、34.2%和38.0%,差异极显著;砍伐的情形则与滑坡大不相同,群落被砍伐两年内,其Shannon-Wiener指数、丰富度和均匀度均无显著差异。     

放牧干扰对喀纳斯草地植物功能群及群落结构的影响

在确定喀纳斯景区草甸群落放牧干扰梯度的基础上,研究放牧干扰下草甸群落的功能群多样性和群落结构,利用功能群重要值、功能群丰富度、功能群和群落生物量变异系数、群落结构变异系数及群落生态优势度指数,比较分析了不同干扰强度阶段功能群组成结构和群落结构的变化。结果表明:随着放牧干扰强度的增加,群落优势功能群多年生杂类草逐渐被多年生丛生禾草和一二年生杂草所取代,多年生根茎禾草与豆科牧草等不耐践踏和采食的功能群逐渐消失,功能群多样性显著降低,不合理的放牧干扰显著降低了群落稳定性。     

Plant Community and Target Species Affect Responses to Restoration Strategies

Increases in Kentucky bluegrass and smooth bromegrass on northern Great Plains rangelands have the potential to negatively impact ecosystem function, lower plant diversity, and alter seasonal forage distribution, but control strategies are lacking in the region. A project was initiated on a heavily invaded 16-ha grassland that had not been grazed or hayed for at least 20 yr. Five restoration treatments and a control were initiated in 2003 on communities dominated by 1) smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.), 2) Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.), 3) warm-season native grasses, 4) a mix of introduced species, and 5) smooth bromegrass and Kentucky bluegrass. Restoration treatments were 1) late-April burn, 2) late-April burn followed by imazapic at 511.62 mL ai · ha^?1, 3) imazapic only at the same rate, 4) mowing, 5) mowing followed by litter removal, and 6) control. We found that treatment responses were affected by target species, community category, and year. Generally, burning followed by the herbicide imazapic reduced Kentucky bluegrass in the species composition, but smooth brome was reduced by mowing followed by raking. Burning followed by imazapic reduced live grass biomass in all community categories except the native the year following treatment, but by the third year of the study live grass biomass was maintained across all treatments. In the third year of the study, responses of Kentucky bluegrass, other invasive species, and native grasses to restoration treatment differed depending on community. The use of burning plus imazapic was promising for control of Kentucky bluegrass but its use by producers may be limited by yield reductions in early years. Our data suggest management strategies should vary depending on whether the goal is to reduce one or several invaders, specific invader identity, and community type in which the invader is growing. We also found that the most effective strategy was an adaptive management approach, one where treatments are chosen in response to changes in community composition and depending on resource conditions.     

Contrasting Effects of Long-Term Fire on Sagebrush Steppe Shrubs Mediated by Topography and Plant Community

The role of fire in restoration of sagebrush plant communities remains controversial mainly because of paucity of information from long-term studies. Here, we examine 15-year post-fire responses of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp wyomingensis) and broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae), the two most abundant native shrubs at the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, a protected area in north-central Oregon, USA. Fire effects were studied along gradients of topography and community type through time post-burn. Community types were distinguished as brush, plots dominated by big sagebrush and woodland, plots with a significant presence of Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) trees. Fire reduced big sagebrush cover in brush plots up to 100% and in woodland plots up to 86%. Broom snakeweed cover declined by 92% and 73% in brush plots and woodland plots, respectively. Big sagebrush did not show signs of recovery 15 years after burning regardless of topography and community type while broom snakeweed populations were clearly rebounding and prospering beyond pre-burn levels. Our results showed that an area initially dominated by big sagebrush (cover of big sagebrush 10-20%, cover of broom snakeweed 2-4%) dramatically shifted to an area dominated by broom snakeweed (cover of big sagebrush < 1%, cover of broom snakeweed 5%) in brush-dominated plots. Our results indicated that brush-dominated plots at lower elevation and southern exposures are the least post-fire resilient. We also observed a declining population of big sagebrush on unburned areas, suggesting the lack of post-fire recovery on burned areas was perhaps a result of low seeding potential by extant populations. Although more years of observation are required, these data indicate that recovery time, the encroachment of opportunistic competing shrubs, and the initial condition of vegetation are essential considerations by land managers when prescribing fire in big sagebrush communities.     

Influence of Abrams M1A1 Main Battle Tank Disturbance on Tallgrass Prairie Plant Community Structure

The Department of Defense's Range and Training Land Assessment program provides information and recommendations to range managers regarding the condition of training lands. This information is used to assist in scheduling training areas and in monitoring the effectiveness of rehabilitation projects. Fort Riley Military Installation is a major training reservation located in the Flint Hills of northeastern Kansas, within the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. A randomized complete block design composed of three treatments (M1A1 Abrams tank traffic during wet and dry soil conditions, and a nontrafficked control) with three replications was established in each of two soil types, a silty clay loam and a silt loam soil, on Fort Riley in 2003. Disturbance was created by driving the tank for five circuits in a figure-eight pattern during either during wet or dry soil conditions. Two additional experimental treatments were added during the study: five additional tank passes on one-half of each figure eight in 2004 and burning in 2006. Two areas, a curve and straightaway, within each traffic intensity (and later, burn treatment) subplot were designated for sampling. Aboveground biomass, species composition, and ground cover were measured during each growing season. Recovery of grass and total aboveground biomass in silty clay loam soil was delayed for curve areas and following disturbance in wet soil conditions, respectively. Species composition and ground cover continued to exhibit significant disturbance effects in 2007, with greatest damage observed for repeated traffic under wet soil conditions. Fire effects on vegetation were variable and generally greater for undisturbed control plots than for disturbed areas. The tallgrass prairie typically is considered to be among the most resilient of military training lands, but our research suggests that resiliency is dependent upon soil type and training conditions, and may require longer periods of recovery than previously thought.     

Medusahead Dispersal and Establishment in Sagebrush Steppe Plant Communities

Medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae [L.] Nevski) is an invasive annual grass that reduces biodiversity and production of rangelands. To prevent medusahead invasion land managers need to know more about its invasion process. Specifically, they must know about 1) the timing and spatial extent of medusahead seed dispersal and 2) the establishment rates and interactions with plant communities being invaded. The timing and distance medusahead seeds dispersed from invasion fronts were measured using seed traps along 23 35-m transects. Medusahead establishment was evaluated by introducing medusahead at 1, 10, 100, 1 000, and 10 000 seeds · m⁻² at 12 sites. Most medusahead seeds dispersed less than 0.5 m from the invasion front (P < 0.01) and none were captured beyond 2 m. Medusahead seeds dispersed from the parent plants from early July to the end of October. More seeds were trapped in August than in the other months (P < 0.01). Medusahead establishment increased with higher seed introduction rates (P < 0.01). Medusahead density was negatively correlated to tall tussock perennial grass density and positively correlated to annual grass density of the preexisting plant communities (P = 0.02). Medusahead cover was also negatively correlated with tall tussock perennial grass density (P = 0.03). The results suggest that containment barriers around medusahead infestations would only have to be a few meters wide to be effective. This study also suggests that promoting or maintaining tall tussock perennial grass in areas at risk of invasion can reduce the establishment success of medusahead. Tall tussock perennial grass and annual grass density, in combination with soil data, may be useful in predicting susceptibility to medusahead invasion.     

Longer-Term Evaluation of Sagebrush Restoration After Juniper Control and Herbaceous Vegetation Trade-offs

Degradation of shrublands around the world from altered fire regimes, overutilization, and anthropogenic disturbance has resulted in a widespread need for shrub restoration. In western North America, reestablishment of mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. vaseyana [Rydb.] Beetle) is needed to restore ecosystem services and function. Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis ssp. occidentalis Hook) encroachment is a serious threat to mountain big sagebrush communities in the northern Great Basin and Columbia Plateau. Juniper trees can be controlled with fire; however, sagebrush recovery may be slow, especially if encroachment largely eliminated sagebrush before juniper control. Short-term studies have suggested that seeding mountain big sagebrush after juniper control may accelerate sagebrush recovery. Longer-term information is lacking on how sagebrush recovery progresses and if there are trade-offs with herbaceous vegetation. We compared seeding and not seeding mountain big sagebrush after juniper control (partial cutting followed with burning) in fully developed juniper woodlands (i.e., sagebrush had been largely excluded) at five sites, 7 and 8 yr after seeding. Sagebrush cover averaged ~ 30% in sagebrush seeded plots compared with ~ 1% in unseeded plots 8 yr after seeding, thus suggesting that sagebrush recovery may be slow without seeding after juniper control. Total herbaceous vegetation, perennial grass, and annual forb cover was less where sagebrush was seeded. Thus, there is a trade-off with herbaceous vegetation with seeding sagebrush. Our results suggest that seeding sagebrush after juniper control can accelerate the recovery of sagebrush habitat characteristics, which is important for sagebrush-associated wildlife. We suggest land manager and restoration practitioners consider seeding sagebrush and possibly other shrubs after controlling encroaching trees where residual shrubs are lacking after control.     

Aboveground and Belowground Carbon Pools After Fire in Mountain Big Sagebrush Steppe

Postfire succession in mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. subsp. vaseyana [Rydb.] Beetle) ecosystems results in a gradual shift from herbaceous dominance to dominance by shrubs. Determining the quality, quantity, and distribution of carbon (C) in rangelands at all stages of succession provides critical baseline data for improving predictions about how C cycling will change at all stages of succession under altered climate conditions. This study quantified the mass and distribution of above- and belowground (to 1.8-m depth) biomass at four successional stages (2, 6, 20, and 39 yr since fire) in Wyoming to estimate rates of C pool accumulation and to quantify changes in ecosystem carbon to nitrogen (C∶N) ratios of the pools during recovery after fire. We hypothesized that biomass C pools would increase over time after fire and that C∶N ratios would vary more between pools than during succession. Aboveground and live coarse roots (CR) biomass increased to 310 and 17 g C · m^?2, but live fine roots (FR) mass was static at about 225 g C · m^?2. Fine litter (≤ 1-cm diameter) accounted for about 70% of ecosystem C accumulation rate, suggesting that sagebrush leaves decompose slowly and contribute to a substantial soil organic carbon (SOC) pool that did not change during the 40 yr studied. Total ecosystem C (not including SOC) increased 16 g · m^?2 · yr^?1 over 39 yr to a maximum of 1 100 g · m^?2; the fastest accumulation occurred during the first 20 yr. C∶N ratios ranged from 11 for forb leaves to 110 for large sagebrush wood and from 85 for live CR to 12 for bulk soil and were constant across growth stages. These systems may be resilient to grazing after fire because of vigorous regrowth of persistent bunchgrasses and stable pools of live FR and SOC.     

放牧和水文扰动对湿草甸植物群落特征的影响

为实现对高原湿草甸的有效保护与恢复,针对高原湿草甸干扰现状,通过定位观测试验对不同放牧和水文扰动下湿草甸植物群落的特征进行了分析.结果显示:禁牧使群落内优势种重要值下降,放牧加水条件下优势种重要值提高,而禁牧加水则导致其重要值降低;放牧干扰对物种丰富度与Shannon-Wiener多样性指数的影响显著,水文干扰对放牧影响具有一定的促进作用;两种干扰对群落均匀度无显著影响;禁牧加水条件下群落地上生物量最高,放牧无水条件下最低,水文条件的改善有利于群落地上生物量的积累;地上生物量干鲜比总体以禁牧条件下较高,水文条件的改善降低了生物量干鲜比.     

Effect of Plateau Zokor (Myospalax fontanierii) Disturbance on Plant Community Structure and Soil Properties in the Eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China

Plateau zokor (Myospalax fontanierii) is a native subterranean rodent in alpine rangeland on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) in China, and its foraging, digging, and mounds building cause the unique disturbance pattern to alpine rangeland ecosystem. Over the past decades, the zokors have been regarded as major pests who result in the degradation of the rangeland ecosystem in the QTP and have been simply eliminated by rodenticides or traps. Understanding the function of zokors and evaluating the zokors’ impacts on alpine rangeland systems should be the solid scientific basis for zokor control. In this study, we considered the average nearest neighbor indices of zokor mounds to represent the disturbance intensity of zokor to alpine rangeland and surveyed the plant species richness, diversity indices, biomass, and soil physicochemical properties in intermound areas under different zokor disturbance intensities in alpine rangeland in Tianzhu Tibet Autonomous County, located in eastern QTP. Our results indicated that 1) the plant species diversity indices were positively correlated with zokor disturbance intensity and aboveground and belowground biomasses were not significantly different under the different disturbance intensities; 2) the importance value of the forb functional group increased as the disturbance intensities increased, and the sedge functional group showed the opposite trend. The proportions of aboveground and belowground biomasses of forbs increased as the disturbance level increased; 3) there were no changes in the dominant plant species among the different disturbance intensities, but new plant species (Polygonum viviparum and Equisetum arvense) occurred in the plots with high disturbance intensities; 4) a significant positive correlation was observed between soil moisture in the 0-20 cm layer and disturbance intensity, while soil temperature exhibited a significantly negative relationship with the disturbance intensity; however, no differences in soil chemical properties were observed; and 5) redundancy analysis identified that mound building changed soil physical properties, especially soil moisture, in intermound areas, which influenced the plant community structure. In conclusion, the plateau zokor in our study area increased plant species diversity and did not decrease plant biomass, which is beneficial for alpine rangeland systems. We suggest that rangeland managers should consider the multiple functions of zokors to an alpine rangeland ecosystem instead of simply eliminating them.     

典型草原区植物群落结构特征动态监测

1999-2002年在内蒙古锡林郭勒盟白音锡勒牧场典型草原区海流特,监测主要植物群落结构特征。结果表明,随时间推移,试验区主要群落的优势植物大针茅、羊草相对高度、相对盖度、相对密度和相对生物量呈降低趋势,退化指示植物冷蒿、狼毒相对高度、相对盖度、相对密度、相对生物量呈增加趋势;试验区群落物种丰富度指数、多样性指数和均匀性指数随时间推移均呈降低趋势;围栏在试验区草地植物群落特征的保持方面很有效,但围栏内植物群落特征随时间推移仍呈退化趋势。     

典型草原区植物群落结构特征动态监测

1999～2002年在内蒙古锡林郭勒盟白音锡勒牧场典型草原区海流特,监测主要植物群落结构特征.结果表明,随时间推移,试验区主要群落的优势植物大针茅、羊草相对高度、相对盖度、相对密度和相对生物量呈降低趋势,退化指示植物冷蒿、狼毒相对高度、相对盖度、相对密度、相对生物量呈增加趋势;试验区群落物种丰富度指数、多样性指数和均匀性指数随时间推移均呈降低趋势;围栏在试验区草地植物群落特征的保持方面很有效,但围栏内植物群落特征随时间推移仍呈退化趋势.     

放牧鹿科动物对植物群落结构及物种多样性的影响

分别于2006年3月和2007年3月在黑龙江省林业科学院平山野生动物实验场所属鹿场开展了半圈养条件下马鹿、梅花鹿对植被啃食情况的调查分析。结果表明:由于放牧过程中鹿科动物的啃食、践踏作用干扰了植被的环境,改变了群落内物种的竞争力和环境条件,使物种的丰富度、均匀度明显降低,优势度升高,两种多样性指数都表现出不同程度的降低,植物功能群也发生了明显的改变;而2007年较2006年鹿场内的均匀度指数、多样性指数又有一定程度的降低,鹿场内的植物群落环境进一步恶化,放牧制度急需改善。     

放牧鹿科动物对植物群落结构及物种多样性的影响

分别于2006年3月和2007年3月在黑龙江省林业科学院平山野生动物实验场所属鹿场开展了半圈养条件下马鹿、梅花鹿对植被啃食情况的调查分析.结果表明:由于放牧过程中鹿科动物的啃食、践踏作用干扰了植被的环境,改变了群落内物种的竞争力和环境条件,使物种的丰富度、均匀度明显降低,优势度升高,两种多样性指数都表现出不同程度的降低,植物功能群也发生了明显的改变;而2007年较2006年鹿场内的均匀度指数、多样性指数又有一定程度的降低,鹿场内的植物群落环境进一步恶化,放牧制度急需改善.     

Eighty Years of Grazing by Cattle Modifies Sagebrush and Bunchgrass Structure

Grazing by cattle is ubiquitous across the sagebrush steppe; however, little is known about its effects on sagebrush and native bunchgrass structure. Understanding the effects of long-term grazing on sagebrush and bunchgrass structure is important because sagebrush is a keystone species and bunchgrasses are the dominant herbaceous functional group in these communities. To investigate the effects of long-term grazing on sagebrush and bunchgrass structure, we compared nine grazing exclosures with nine adjacent rangelands that were grazed by cattle in southeast Oregon. Grazing was moderate utilization (30 ? 45%) with altering season of use and infrequent rest. Long-term grazing by cattle altered some structural aspects of bunchgrasses and sagebrush. Ungrazed bunchgrasses had larger dead centers in their crowns, as well as greater dead fuel depths below and above the crown level compared with grazed bunchgrasses. This accumulation of dry fuel near the meristematic tissue may increase the probability of fire-induced mortality during a wildfire. Bunchgrasses in the ungrazed treatment had more reproductive stems than those in the long-term grazed treatment. This suggests that seed production of bunchgrasses may be greater in ungrazed areas. Sagebrush height and longest canopy diameter were 15% and 20% greater in the ungrazed compared with the grazed treatment, respectively. However, the bottom of the sagebrush canopy was closer to the ground in the grazed compared with the ungrazed treatment, which may provide better hiding cover for ground-nesting avian species. Sagebrush basal stem diameter, number of stems, amount of dead material in the canopy, canopy gap size, and number of canopy gaps did not differ between ungrazed and grazed treatments. Moderate grazing does not appear to alter the competitive relationship between a generally unpalatable shrub and palatable bunchgrasses. Long-term, moderate grazing appears to have minimal effects to the structure of bunchgrasses and sagebrush, other than reducing the risk of bunchgrass mortality during a fire event.     

Land-Use Legacies and Vegetation Recovery 90 Years After Cultivation in Great Basin Sagebrush Ecosystems

Agricultural land use is known to alter ecological processes, and native plant communities can require decades to centuries to recover from the disturbance of cultivation. “Recovery” is typically measured by comparison to undisturbed adjacent sites as a control. Recovery following cultivation in sagebrush ecosystems of the Great Basin remains largely unexamined even though nearly a half million hectares of land were dry-farmed and abandoned in the early 1900s. We tested the hypothesis that the native vegetation has not recovered from this exotic disturbance by evaluating differences in canopy cover of shrubs, grasses, and forbs between paired sets of historically dry-farmed land and adjacent never-cultivated areas. Paired sites were located in three ecological sites in northwestern Utah. We found that vegetation recovery from cultivation is variable by growth form, species, and ecological site. Shrub recovery was different among sagebrush (Artemisia) species. Yellow rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus [Hook.] Nutt.) and black greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus [Hook.] Torr.), which often increase following disturbance, maintained higher cover inside old fields. At one of the paired sets, shrub composition was altered from a mix of four species to dominance of mainly Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. subsp. wyomingensis Beetle & Young). Total forb cover was generally lower in cultivated areas and some species, such as spiny phlox (Phlox hoodii Richardson), had not recovered. The most common grass species encountered across all ecological sites, bottlebrush squirreltail (Elymus elymoides [Raf.] Swezey), had higher cover in cultivated areas. Surprisingly, exotic annual species, such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.), did not dominate these sites as they have for decades after cultivation in other areas of the Great Basin. This study demonstrates that the land-use legacy of dry farming on vegetation remains nearly a century after cultivation has ceased, and has direct implications for describing ecological site conditions.