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IMPACTS OF ALTERNATIVE RANGELAND MANAGEMENT REGIMES ON THE ECOLOGY OF GREATER PRAIRIE-CHICKENS.
Author
McNew, Lance B.
Winder, Virginia
Sandercock, Brett K.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2017
Body

Population declines of grassland birds over the past 30 years have corresponded with the widespread implementation of intensive rangeland management practices (IESB) that create homogenous grassland habitats.� Patch-burn grazing (PBG) was tested as an alternative management technique that is ecologically similar to historically heterogeneous fire and grazing regimes, and holds promise as a rangeland management tool that may benefit grassland wildlife.� We conducted a 3-year study to compare demography and space use of greater prairie-chickens, an umbrella species for tallgrass prairie conservation, on study areas managed with PBG and areas managed with IESB in the Flint Hills of Kansas.� We observed multiple lines of evidence supporting conservation value of patch-burn grazing for greater prairie-chickens. �Nest survival for prairie-chickens was largely determined by vertical nesting cover, which was directly affected by rangeland management. Mean nest survival on patch-burn properties was twice as high as that on IESB properties. Our results also suggest that the interaction between fire application and stocking rates influences the space use decisions of female prairie-chickens. �PBG created preferred habitats for female prairie-chickens with a 3-year fire return interval and a mosaic of burned and unburned patches, and females selected for PBG areas for both foraging and nesting. Our analysis of annual and seasonal survival and mortality risk showed that PBG practices provide habitat conditions that increase female survival during both breeding and nonbreeding seasons.� Overall, populations of prairie-chickens in Kansas were not viable with current rates of population decline, and declines were predicted to be ~40% greater under IESB management compared to PBG.� Our results join a growing body of evidence that rangeland management strategies that mimic historical heterogeneous fire and grazing regimes benefit native prairie wildlife.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM St. George, UT
Collection
SRM Annual Meeting Abstracts