Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Vegetation Dynamics Following Cessation of Herbicide Application |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Authors are Associate Professor, Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078;2. Rangeland Scientist, USDA-ARS, High Plains Grasslands Research Station, Cheyenne, WY 82009;1. Research assistants, Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Research Station, Laboratory of Grassland Science, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China;2. Researcher, Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Research Station, Laboratory of Grassland Science, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China;3. Research Associate, Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Research Station, Laboratory of Grassland Science, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, People’s Republic of China;4. Professor, School of Animal Biology and Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Crawley WA 6009, Australia;5. Doctor, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, People’s Republic of China;6. Professor, Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093;1. PhD Student, Biology Department, University of Regina, Regina, SK S4S0A2, Canada;2. Professor, Biology Department, University of Regina, Regina, SK S4S0A2, Canada;3. Research and Development Co-ordinator, Western Ag Innovations, Sherwood, ND 58782, USA;4. Associate Professor, Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G2W1, Canada;5. Research Scientist, Northern Forestry Centre, Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Edmonton, AB T6H3S5, Canada. |
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| Abstract: | We studied short-term (1–3 years) responses of plant species and functional group abundances, richness, evenness, diversity, and similarity following cessation of 25 years (1972–1997) of herbicide application in a remnant of Blackland Tallgrass Prairie in central Texas. Substantial increases in plant cover from 1998 to 2000 were observed for annual forbs (359%–900%), primarily attributable to firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella Foug), but C4 perennial grass cover only marginally increased (22%–23%). These disproportionate increases elicited a directional compositional change in the plant community with dominance shifting from C4 perennial grasses to annual forbs. Species richness, evenness, and diversity decreased from 1998 to 2000 for May, but increased for June, sampling date. Conservation efforts pertaining to remnants of Blackland Tallgrass Prairie need to be cognizant that dramatic short-term effects on vegetation dynamics will occur following cessation of annual herbicide applications, and that enhancement of perennial forbs may require seeding or transplanting species. |
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