Pfeiffer and Steuter determined the effects of fire and bison (Bison bison) grazing on four groups of Sandhills prairie plants, bunchgrasses, matrix forbs (the dominant rhizomatous species), and interstitial forbs. End of season standing crop of both rhizomatous species and bunchgrasses was increased by spring burning on sands range sites. Summer burning did not affect rhizomatous grass standing crop, but dramatically reduced bunchgrass standing crop. On burned areas, bison grazing reduced bunchgrass standing crop by 56%, while reducing rhizomatous grass standing crop by only 18%. While fire in combination with grazing may be necessary to maintain Sandhills vegetation in its current state, it also may increase the erosion hazard to these rangelands.
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