Rangeland Ecology & Management

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Plant Community and Target Species Affect Responses to Restoration Strategies
Author
Hendrickson, John R.
Lund, Corie
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2010-07-01
Body

Increases in Kentucky bluegrass and smooth bromegrass on northern Great Plains rangelands have the potential to negatively impact ecosystem function, lower plant diversity, and alter seasonal forage distribution, but control strategies are lacking in the region. A project was initiated on a heavily invaded 16-ha grassland that had not been grazed or hayed for at least 20 yr. Five restoration treatments and a control were initiated in 2003 on communities dominated by 1) smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.), 2) Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.), 3) warm-season native grasses, 4) a mix of introduced species, and 5) smooth bromegrass and Kentucky bluegrass. Restoration treatments were 1) late-April burn, 2) late-April burn followed by imazapic at 511.62 mL ai ha-1, 3) imazapic only at the same rate, 4) mowing, 5) mowing followed by litter removal, and 6) control. We found that treatment responses were affected by target species, community category, and year. Generally, burning followed by the herbicide imazapic reduced Kentucky bluegrass in the species composition, but smooth brome was reduced by mowing followed by raking. Burning followed by imazapic reduced live grass biomass in all community categories except the native the year following treatment, but by the third year of the study live grass biomass was maintained across all treatments. In the third year of the study, responses of Kentucky bluegrass, other invasive species, and native grasses to restoration treatment differed depending on community. The use of burning plus imazapic was promising for control of Kentucky bluegrass but its use by producers may be limited by yield reductions in early years. Our data suggest management strategies should vary depending on whether the goal is to reduce one or several invaders, specific invader identity, and community type in which the invader is growing. We also found that the most effective strategy was an adaptive management approach, one where treatments are chosen in response to changes in community composition and depending on resource conditions.  The Rangeland Ecology & Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020

Language
en
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Journal Issue/Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.2111/08-239.1
Additional Information
Hendrickson, J. R., & Lund, C. (2010). Plant community and target species affect responses to restoration strategies. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 63(4), 435-442.
IISN
0022-409X
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/642804
Journal Volume
63
Journal Number
4
Journal Pages
435-442
Journal Name
Rangeland Ecology & Management
Keywords
Bromus inermis
ecological restoration
grassland management
grassland restoration
invasive grasses
Poa pratensis
restoration burns