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| Author | : Annie M. Horner |
| Publisher | : |
| Total Pages | : 152 |
| Release | : 2005 |
| Genre | : Prairie ecology |
| ISBN | : |
| Author | : Drew Austin Scott |
| Publisher | : |
| Total Pages | : 286 |
| Release | : 2015 |
| Genre | : Grassland restoration |
| ISBN | : |
The tallgrass prairie has been severely reduced in size, making restoration important to maintain communities and functions of this ecosystem. A chronosequence approach was used to determine recovery of physical and biological soil properties. The recovery models of soil properties provided information to explain the variation in total C stock of the whole soil. Recovery models also provided information to design a competition experiment based on variation in whole soil conditions with land use history. The filter framework hypothesis is a useful concept for examining tallgrass prairie restoration; the theory states only a subset of species in the region will be able to establish in a specific location due to abiotic and biotic filters. With this theory in mind, I explored the influence of whole soil conditions as affected by land use history (cultivation/restoration) and how these conditions altered plant-plant competition dynamics of a dominant grass was studied. Belowground plant biomass recovers with cessation of tillage and restoration back to prairie, providing an organic matter source for microbial populations to recover and soil macroaggregates to form. This has potential to increase C sequestration in soils and decrease nitrous oxide efflux from soils. Intact 5.5 cm dia cores were collected to a depth of 10 cm in each field to determine physical and biological soil properties. Belowground plant, microbial community, and soil structure properties were modeled to recover coinciding with an increase in total C stock of the whole soil. Structural equation modeling revealed that soil structure physically protecting organic matter explained the most variation in soil carbon sequestration with restoration. Most of the total C was contained within the macroaggregate size fraction; within this fraction most of that C is within the microaggregates within macroaggregates fraction. Soil structure is critical for recovery of soil carbon stocks and the microaggregate within macroaggregate fraction is the best diagnostic of sequestered C. ANCOVA results indicate that while the slopes of nitrous oxide efflux rates did not differ, cumulative efflux differed, though this was not related to time since restoration. Dominant grasses, such as Andropogon gerardii, can exclude subordinate species from grassland restorations. Thus, understanding changes in competition dynamics of dominant grasses could help maintain richness in grassland restorations. There may be changes in competition dynamics with whole soil conditions affected by land use history (cultivation/restoration) as plant available nutrients will decrease, microbial populations will increase, and soil structure will improve with restoration from cultivation to prairie. Using 4 soil treatments of varying land use history with four species treatments, to determine if effects are general or species specific, pairwise substitution competition experiments were conducted. Relative A. gerardii response to competition was compared among soil and species treatments using competition intensity and competition importance indices utilizing final plant biomass, relative growth rate based on maximum height, and net absolute tiller appearance rate. The experiment was conducted over 18 weeks, allowing A. gerardii to flower. A significant intensity result and significant importance results utilizing biomass measurements indicated that the 16 year restored prairie soil cause A. gerardii to be a relatively better competitor against forbs than in all other soils except for cultivated soil, likely due to positive plant-soil feedbacks. Significant importance results utilizing tiller appearance rate indicated that the cultivated and 3 year restored prairie soil caused A. gerardii to be a relatively better competitor than in the 16 year restored and never cultivated native prairie soils, likely due to changes in whole soil conditions related to land use history. There were only general soil effects, as soil treatments did not interact with species treatments. A. gerardii was a relatively better competitor against non-leguminous forbs, indicating that legumes are a better competitor for a limiting nutrient than A. gerardii or that this species is not in direct competition with legumes.
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| Publisher | : |
| Total Pages | : |
| Release | : 2008 |
| Genre | : |
| ISBN | : |
Approximately 96% of native tallgrass prairie in North America has been lost, which accentuates the need for effective methods to restore the structure and function of these degraded ecosystems. Many prairie restorations aim to restore grass and forb species in proportions reflecting plant species diversity in native prairie. A target grass-forb species mixture is typically chosen at the onset of restoration, but often, grasses become excessively dominant and forbs are underrepresented as the community develops. Several studies have examined the potential for increasing forb cover and diversity in newly restored grasslands, but few studies have assessed factors limiting forb cover and diversity in well-established grass-dominated prairie restorations. The primary objective of this research was to assess the potential for enhancing plant species diversity and productivity in an established grass-dominated prairie restoration by selective removals of dominant grass species, and by manipulating resources (soil nutrients, light availability) or mycorrhizal interactions. A 7-year old grass-dominated restoration was used to evaluate plant and soil responses to manipulations in three separate studies. The first study examined the potential suppressive effects of dominant grasses on plant diversity by reducing the cover and biomass of two dominant grass species, Andropogon gerardii and Panicum virgatum. After 3 years, the removal of A. gerardii increased species richness and diversity, which was correlated with increased light availability, but not changes in soil resources. The second study examined the responses of restored grassland communities to long-term manipulation of soil resources (nutrient availability or soil depth), and to aboveground biomass removal via mowing. The long-term manipulation of soil resources did not alter plant species diversity, but nitrogen and light availability were important factors regulating plant productivity. The third study assessed the effects of manipulating arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, through the use of either commercial inoculum or fungicide, on plant communities in restored prairie. Mycorrhizal suppression reduced grass productivity, suggesting that fungicide may be useful for enhancing diversity of restored prairies that are dominated by obligate mycotrophic grasses. In total, these studies suggest that competition between dominant grasses and subordinate forbs limits plant diversity in restored tallgrass prairie.
| Author | : Tyler Joseph Durre |
| Publisher | : |
| Total Pages | : 378 |
| Release | : 2018 |
| Genre | : Grasslands |
| ISBN | : |
Native tallgrass prairies were once considered to be the dominant pre-settlement vegetation type in the eastern third of the Great Plains, but are now designated as America's most endangered ecosystem due to conversion to agricultural land. Prairie mounds are unique soil features still present in remnant native tallgrass prairies across the United States. The main objective was to determine the effects of soil moisture regime (i.e., aquic and udic), mound position, (i.e., mound summit, backslope, toeslope, inter-mound), soil depth (i.e., 10-cm intervals from 0 to 90 cm), and their interactions on soil physical, chemical, and hydraulic properties in a mounded native tallgrass prairie in the Ozark Highlands region of northwest Arkansas. The secondary objective was to evaluate the effects of soil depth (i.e., 10, 20, 30, and 50 cm), mound position (i.e., mound summit and inter-mound), soil moisture regime (i.e., udic and aquic), and their interactions over time and to quantify the effects of soil moisture regime (i.e., udic and aquic), mound position (i.e., mound summit and inter-mound), sample date, and their interactions on prairie vegetation. Soil samples were collected in mid-April 2017, volumetric water content measurements were collected continuously from April 2017 - June 2018, and vegetation was sampled in June and August 2017 and in May and August 2018. Soil clay concentrations in the mound summits roughly doubled from 0-90 cm while the clay concentrations in the backslope, toeslope, and inter-mound increased by three to six times from 0-90 cm. The maximum soil volumetric water content for selected rainfall events was approximately 2.5 times greater at the 10-cm depth in the aquic inter-mound compared to the udic mound at 30 cm. Total aboveground dry matter was numerically largest (8489 kg ha-1) at the aquic summit in August 2018 and numerically smallest (1280 kg ha-1) at the aquic inter-mound in May 2018. The results of this study provide insight regarding soil nutrient contents and water dynamics of praire mounds and inter-mound areas, which are important for plant growth. Results clearly demonstrate that prairie restoration/management activities need to account for mound topography and differing soil moisture regimes to be most successful.
| Author | : Harold Gardner |
| Publisher | : Springer Science & Business Media |
| Total Pages | : 291 |
| Release | : 2010-12-01 |
| Genre | : Science |
| ISBN | : 144197427X |
This work advocates the restoration of the North American tallgrass prairie, which is rapidly disappearing. Historical descriptions of prairie aesthetics are outlined. As we are experiencing a worldwide mixing of plant species, prairie restoration is particularly important. Plants alien to North America do not readily support insect populations, including all animal species higher on the food chain. Prairie restoration methods are described for amateurs, academics, and land managers. Some of the techniques described are growing crops for seed production, times of seed gathering for specific species, facile seed processing for amateurs, land preparation, segregation of seed into its preference for habitat, and required seed treatment for germination. Over 200 species are described that comprise the predominant species found in tallgrass prairie nature preserves, as well as degraded prairies. Some additional plants of especial interest are also described. The appendix tabulates all likely species found on prairies regardless of their scarcity. Safe fire management of prairies is described in detail. Finally, methods of controlling aggressive alien weeds by herbicides are detailed.
| Author | : Stephen Packard |
| Publisher | : |
| Total Pages | : 504 |
| Release | : 1997-03 |
| Genre | : Nature |
| ISBN | : |
This hands-on manual provides a detailed account of what has been learned about the art and science of prairie restoration and the application of that knowledge to restoration projects throughout the world. The book explores a myriad of restoration philosophies and techniques and is an essential resource for anyone working to nurture our once-vibrant native landscapes to a state of health.
| Author | : Nicole Lynn Stanton |
| Publisher | : |
| Total Pages | : |
| Release | : 2014 |
| Genre | : |
| ISBN | : |
Temperate grasslands are among the most threatened biomes in the world, with the largest historical losses due to conversion to agricultural land. While much of this biome has already been converted, there is concern the last remaining remnants in North America will be converted in response to increasing demand for crops used for ethanol production. Thus, restoring grasslands post-anthropogenic disturbance is increasingly important for conserving grassland biodiversity. Two major challenges for prairie restorations are establishing the many subdominant and rarer species found in native prairie, and offsetting the typical decline in richness and diversity over time as restorations age. Repeated seed addition of targeted species is commonly used to override low and declining plant richness and diversity. While this is generally effective early in restoration (i.e., as communities are establishing), its effectiveness in later stages (i.e., when established communities are often losing diversity) remains unknown. I investigated plant community responses to combinations of resource manipulations and disturbances coupled with a seed addition in a 15-yr old restored grassland to test the hypothesis that spatial resource heterogeneity increases the rate of colonization into established prairie restoration communities. Seeds were added to a long-term restoration experiment involving soil depth manipulations (deep, shallow) crossed with nutrient manipulations (reduced N, ambient N, enriched N). Seedling emergence was generally low and only 8 of the 14 forb species added were detected in the first growing season. I found no effect of increased resource heterogeneity on the abundance or richness of seedlings. There was a significant nutrient effect (p
| Author | : Zachary J. Whitacre |
| Publisher | : |
| Total Pages | : 0 |
| Release | : 2021 |
| Genre | : Grassland ecology |
| ISBN | : |
Tallgrass prairies have virtually disappeared in many parts of their former range due to the conversion of this ecosystem to farmland. In more recent years there have been efforts to restore these prairies on reclaimed agricultural land. However, these restored prairies do not resemble their remnant counterparts in many ways, such as in soil microbial community composition and metrics related to carbon storage. In Chapter 1, I show that bacterial communities in a restored prairie and an adjacent remnant prairie in southwest Michigan differ in their immediate and longer-term responses to prescribed fire, a commonly used prairie restoration and maintenance technique. Overall, results show that bacterial communities in the remnant prairie were more resilient to the prescribed fire event than the bacterial communities in the restored prairie. In Chapter 2, I explore the effects of carbon addition in the form of pure cellulose and plant biomass as well as the effects of plants and soil type on soil microbial communities and metrics related to carbon storage and in two new prairie restorations, one in southwest Michigan and one in eastern Minnesota. We found that through biomass addition there were increases in metrics related to carbon storage in both prairies when plants were present. Conversely, the response of the soil microbial communities differed in these two restorations in response to carbon addition and the presence of plants suggesting that differences in soil type can set restorations of different trajectories.
| Author | : Annalisa Mazzorato |
| Publisher | : |
| Total Pages | : |
| Release | : 2019 |
| Genre | : |
| ISBN | : |
Soil carbon (C) is approximately twice the amount of atmospheric C and plays a key role in nutrient cycling and provides critical ecosystem services. The intensification of agriculture, now covering 40% of the earth's terrestrial surface, is one of the biggest problems facing soil carbon loss contributing to a loss of 26% of soil C to the atmosphere via factors such as cultivation. An observational study on 11 farms with conventional cropping systems and restored tallgrass prairie on marginal land was conducted. The effect of cover, restoration age, sampling depth down to 60 cm and aboveground tissue quality and quantity on soil C accumulation in the form of soil organic carbon (SOC) was examined. My work revealed two findings: (1) that cover type had minimal influences on several key soil properties, specifically with SOC, respiration and ammonia and (2) although SOC showed no differences with cover type, several other key factors associated with SOC accumulation diverged substantially with restored prairies having higher root biomass, pH, litter biomass and lower nitrate, phosphorus, bulk density and tissue quality. Overall, the lack of response for SOC or respiration between cover types and within the prairie chronosequence demonstrate that these systems require larger timescales for these differences to emerge.
| Author | : Harold Gardner |
| Publisher | : Springer |
| Total Pages | : 276 |
| Release | : 2010-11-19 |
| Genre | : Science |
| ISBN | : 9781441974266 |
This work advocates the restoration of the North American tallgrass prairie, which is rapidly disappearing. Historical descriptions of prairie aesthetics are outlined. As we are experiencing a worldwide mixing of plant species, prairie restoration is particularly important. Plants alien to North America do not readily support insect populations, including all animal species higher on the food chain. Prairie restoration methods are described for amateurs, academics, and land managers. Some of the techniques described are growing crops for seed production, times of seed gathering for specific species, facile seed processing for amateurs, land preparation, segregation of seed into its preference for habitat, and required seed treatment for germination. Over 200 species are described that comprise the predominant species found in tallgrass prairie nature preserves, as well as degraded prairies. Some additional plants of especial interest are also described. The appendix tabulates all likely species found on prairies regardless of their scarcity. Safe fire management of prairies is described in detail. Finally, methods of controlling aggressive alien weeds by herbicides are detailed.
