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IMPACTS OF ECOLOGICAL SITES AND HERBIVORY ON SOIL SEED BANKS AND VEGETATIVE PROPAGULES.
Author
Xu, Lan
Johnson, Patricia S.
Hendrickson, John R.
Sedivec, Kevin K.
Brennan, Jameson R.
Bam, Surendra
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2017
Body

The capacity of vegetation to regenerate after disturbance is depend on the presence of seed banks and vegetative propagules, which are affected by various abiotic and biotic factors, such as ecological sites and herbivory.� They also reflect the land use history. �This study aimed to determine the characteristics of seed banks and vegetative propagules under different ecological sites (Loamy�vs. Clayey), grazing disturbance (presence�vs.�absence), and types of grazing (livestock�vs. prairie dogs), intensity of disturbance on the composition, abundance, and viability of seed and vegetative propagules reserves for consecutive three years. Within each ecological site, locations were selected in areas with no grazing, grazing by prairie dog only, grazing by cattle only and grazing by both herbivores.� At each location, two prairie dog burrows (on-town) or sampling points (off-town) at least 2-m apart were randomly selected.� Two soil cores were taken at 0.5-m, 1-m, and 2-m from the center of each burrow or sampling point.� One core was used to evaluate the seed bank while the other was examined for vegetative propagule reserves.� The soil cores and seed flats were maintained in a greenhouse with ambient photoperiod during the 2014 to 2016 growing seasons. �Samples were misted daily and emergence was recorded weekly.� Plants were identified as they emerged, counted, and then removed.� Species richness, abundance, viability, and similarity of seed bank and vegetative propagules will be determined. �The information generated from this study will increase our knowledge of understanding vegetation trajectory recovery following disturbance and potential role of soil seed bank and bud bank in providing resilience of grassland ecosystems to the changing environmental conditions. In addition, it provides insights for developing strategies for sustainably managing co-existence of prairie dogs and livestock.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM St. George, UT
Collection
SRM Annual Meeting Abstracts