Heterogeneity-Based Management Restores Diversity and Alters Vegetation Structure without Decreasing Invasive Grasses in Working Mixed-Grass Prairie

Cameron Duquette, Devan Allen McGranahan, Megan Wanchuk, Torre Hovick, Ryan Limb and Kevin Sedivec
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Cameron Duquette: Plant and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA
Devan Allen McGranahan: USDA-ARS, Livestock & Range Research Laboratory, Miles City, MT 59301, USA
Megan Wanchuk: Range Science, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105, USA
Torre Hovick: Range Science, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105, USA
Ryan Limb: Range Science, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105, USA
Kevin Sedivec: Range Science, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105, USA

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: Non-native plants can reduce grassland biodiversity, degrade wildlife habitat, and threaten rural livelihoods. Management can be costly, and the successful eradication of undesirable species does not guarantee the restoration of ecosystem service delivery. An alternative to the eradication of invasive species in rangelands is to target the restoration of diversity and heterogeneous plant structure, which have direct links to ecosystem function. In this study, we evaluate patch-burn grazing (PBG) with one and two fires per year and variably stocked rotational grazing in Poa pratensis - and Bromus inermis -invaded grasslands using traditional (cover) and process-based (diversity and vegetation structural heterogeneity) frameworks in central North Dakota, USA. Within 3–4 years of initiating management, we found little evidence of decreased Poa pratensis and Bromus inermis cover compared to continuous grazing ( Poa pratensis F 3,12 = 0.662, p = 0.59; Bromus inermis F 3,12 = 0.13, p = 0.13). However, beta diversity increased over time in all treatments compared to continuous grazing (t PBG1 = 2.71, t PBG2 = 3.45, t Rotational = 3.72), and variably stocked rotational treatments had greater increases in spatial heterogeneity in litter depth and vegetation structure than continuously grazed pastures (t visual obstruction = 2.42, p = 0.03; t litter depth = 2.59, p = 0.02) over the same time period. Alternative frameworks that promote grassland diversity and heterogeneity support the restoration of ecological services and processes in invaded grasslands.

Keywords: patch-burn grazing; heterogeneity; grassland ecosystem processes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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