The most obvious physical effect of an oil or natural gas drilling pad is the immediate area denuded of vegetation and subjected to vehicle traffic. However more subtle changes, such as alterations to microtopography and moisture regimes, emission of introduced gases, and deposition of sediment may have widespread and persistent effects as well as synergistic landscape-level effects. Grading and compaction of soil during construction may cause erosion, alter hydrology, and preclude reestablishment of natural vegetation communities. These changes in microclimate and soil characteristics may result in alterations in the abundance and distribution of the biotic community. We investigated the impact of well pads on soil surface temperature, thermogravimetric moisture content, vegetation cover and community composition, and arthropod abundance and diversity at four distances (-0.5 m, 1 m, 10 m, and 100 m) from well pads in Ellis County, Oklahoma. Our preliminary results show that vegetation height increased with distance from well pad, and all distances were significantly different. Litter depth was significantly greater in the 10 m and the 100 m distances than the -0.5 m and 1 m distance. Soil surface temperature was significantly greater in the -0.5 m distance than the 1 m, 10 m, and 100 m distances, while shrub cover followed the opposite pattern. Bare ground cover was lowest in the 100 m and 10 m distances, followed by the 1 m and then the -0.5 m distances. Forb cover was unique in that the 10 m distance had lower forb cover than the -0.5 m, the 1 m, and the 100 m distances. Warm season grass had greater cover in the 100 m distance than the closer three distances. Arthropod diversity and community response will also be presented. These results will be used to quantify the indirect footprint of a well pad.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.