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Soil quality response of reestablished grasslands to mowing and burning
Author
Schacht, W. H.
Stubbendieck, J.
Bragg, T. B.
Smart, A. J.
Doran, J. W.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
1996-09-01
Body

Prescribed burning and mowing are management practices commonly used on grasslands even though there is limited knowledge of long-term effects on soil quality. The influences of mowing and burning on soil quality were determined on 2 reestablished tallgrass sites in eastern Nebraska dominated by silty clay loam soils. Burn treatments included seasonal (i.e., October, May, or July) prescribed burning at either 1-year or 4-year intervals. Mow treatments included seasonal mowing at 4-year intervals. Both burn and mow treatments have been imposed at Site 1 since fall 1981. Only the burn treatments have been applied at Site 2 since fall 1979. Soil quality measurement were made at both sites in summer 1994. Season of application of the mow and burn treatments and season X treatment interactions were not significant. Infiltration rates at Site 1 for the mow and annual burn treatments were slower than for the control, whereas infiltration rate was comparable for the year burn treatments and the control. Unlike Site 1, the 1-year and 4-year burn treatments at Site 2 had similar infiltration rates, and the burn treatments had slower infiltration rates than the control. Generally, soil bulk density, pH, electrical conductivity, total nitrogen content, and organic matter content were similar for all treatments. Results demonstrate that repeated burning or mowing treatments can detrimentally impact infiltration rates on silty clay loam sites; however, soil properties other than those measured would need to be studied to explain infiltration response. 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)
10.2307/4002930
Additional Information
Schacht, W. H., Stubbendieck, J., Bragg, T. B., Smart, A. J., & Doran, J. W. (1996). Soil quality response of reestablished grasslands to mowing and burning. Journal of Range Management, 49(5), 458-463.
ISSN
0022-409X
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/644330
Journal Volume
49
Journal Number
5
Journal Pages
458-463
Collection
Rangeland Ecology & Management (REM)
Journal Name
Journal of Range Management
Keywords
mowing
soil organic matter
soil density
electrical conductivity
highlands
soil pH
loam soils
Nebraska
prescribed burning
nitrogen content
range management
infiltration
bulk density