Rangeland Ecology & Management

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Relationship between plant species diversity and grassland condition
Author
Bai, Y.
Abouguendia, Z.
Redmann, R. E.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2001-03-01
Body

Although the maintenance of biodiversity has become one of the goals in ecosystem management, the relationships of diversity to ecosystem characteristics such as level of herbivory, productivity, and vegetation structure are still poorly understood. We examined these relationships in 8 native grassland sites differing in grazing histories and range condition in the Mixed Grassland (6), Moist Mixed Grassland (1) and Aspen Parkland (1) ecoregions of southern Saskatchewan. Range condition, assessed using standard methods, ranged from fair to excellent. The Shannon's diversity index followed a curvi-linear relationship with range condition, increasing from fair to good, but decreasing from good to excellent condition, within a range between 0.66 and 2.58. Species evenness was affected by range condition in a similar manner ranging from 0.44 to 0.86. Species richness varied among sites and plots between 4 and 28 plants 0.25 m(-2), but changed little with range condition. Most structural parameters, such as the cover, height, or thickness of standing plants (live or dead) and litter, increased with range condition especially from good to excellent. The Shannon's diversity index was positively correlated with forb biomass, but not with biomass of any other group or their combination. Grazing regimes that maintain good range condition also maintain species and structural diversity of grasslands. The Journal of Range 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)
10.2307/4003180
Additional Information
Bai, Y., Abouguendia, Z., & Redmann, R. E. (2001). Relationship between plant species diversity and grassland condition. Journal of Range Management, 54(2), 177-183.
IISN
0022-409X
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/643853
Journal Volume
54
Journal Number
2
Journal Pages
177-183
Journal Name
Journal of Range Management
Keywords
Lycopodiaceae
species eveness
grassland condition
ground cover
species diversity
Saskatchewan
forbs
biomass
range management
plant litter
botanical composition
grasses
plant height
biomass
litter
sward structure
Saskatchewan
Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA)
Two-way Indicator Species Analysis (TWINSPAN)