Collins and Barber measured the effects of grazing, fire, buffalo wallows, and prairie dog towns on grassland plant community dynamics in an area of mixed-grass prairie, in southwestern Oklahoma. Light to moderate intensity grazing generally enhanced species diversity, richness, and evenness, and these plant community characteristics were greatest in lightly or moderately grazed grasslands that had buffalo wallows. Plant communities exposed to frequent fires or containing prairie dog towns were the most disturbed and had the lowest species diversity, richness and evenness of all disturbed plant communities. The results of this study suggest that low and high levels of disturbance generally produce plant communities with limited diversity whereas, plant communities exposed to moderate levels of disturbance have the greatest community diversity.
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