Rangelands in the northern Great Plains have been heavily invaded by Kentucky bluegrass.� While the extent of the invasion has been recognized, the ecological impact of the invasion needs further attention.� We evaluated species productivity, litter production, species diversity and effective number of species on paired sites with either a high or low level of Kentucky bluegrass abundance.� Each paired site was 1 x� 2� m and located adjacent to each other.� Two 1/8 m2 quadrats were clipped in each plot.� Quadrats were clipped to ground level and biomass was separated by species.� Litter was comprised of both standing dead and detached litter.� Species diversity was determined using the Shannon �Weaver index and a variant of the index was used to determine effective species number.� Plots dominated by Kentucky bluegrass produced almost 10 more grams of biomass per m2 than did the control plots (46.97 vs. 37.10 g for Kentucky bluegrass and control respectively).� Biomass productivity was greater in 2014 compared to 2013 (49 vs 33 g m2 for 2014 and 2013 respectively).� Kentucky bluegrass dominated plots produced over 6 times the litter as control plots. �Species diversity as measured by the Shannon-Weaver index and species richness was greater in the control plots.� Over 5 more species were found in the control plots compared to the Kentucky bluegrass dominated plots and the effective species number was almost twice as great in the control plots (4.78 vs. 2.43 for the control vs Kentucky bluegrass dominated respectively). While Kentucky bluegrass did increase biomass productivity, it dramatically decreased species diversity.� The decline in species diversity linked with Kentucky bluegrass can have impacts on other ecosystem services such as pollination, genetic and medicinal resources.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.