In Wisconsin, the average absolute loss of species per site per year was 0.45% for dry prairies, 0.77% for mesic prairies, and 1.03% for wet prairies. These values imply that half the plant species present in a remnant wet prairie would disappear in less than half-century, whereas, in the best case, half of the botanical diversity of a remnant dry prairie would disappear in slightly more than a century. Most of these species that were lost were short plants; species <0.5 m tall. N-fixers account for 11% of the absolute loss and have 45% less recruitment than non-fixers. Losses among regionally rare species were especially severe; the 13 state-listed endangered or state-listed threatened species in our remnants lost 28 of 38 total occurrences, an absolute loss of 74%, more than twice the average of 34% for all species. The interruption of landscape-scale processes (such as wildfire) by fragmentation is an often overlooked mechanism that may be eroding biodiversity in many habitats around the world.
Citations and enhanced abstracts for journals articles and documents focused on rangeland ecology and management. RSIS is a collaboration between Montana State University, University of Idaho, and University of Wyoming.