Fehmi and Bartolome evaluated the effects of fall burning and excluding grazing on spatial patterns of Nassella pulchra, in a historically grazed Coastal Prairie of California. N. pulchra distributions show that the burning treatment significantly increased the clump size from 12.0 to 16.7 cm and the grazing treatment decreased the clump size from 16.1 to 12.6 cm. There was no significant interaction between burning and grazing . Analysis of the observed frequencies within plots showed that the distribution of plants in the grazed treatment was more heterogeneous than the others. The results on plant distributions support the recommendation of earlier work by Hatch et al. (1991) that N. pulchra responds well to burning and grazing exclusion. This would be Fehmi and Bartolome's recommendation for conservation, restoration, or enhancement of this species when sites have heavy levels of residual dry matter. However, the mix of native and introduced species on the site are quite likely to each have unique responses to burning and grazing and simple management formulas such as burning every fourth year are unlikely to satisfy common restoration goals. A mix of use, management, and frequent assessment has the potential to enhance both N. pulchra and site diversity.
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