Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Miles City, Montana » Livestock and Range Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #395685
Research Project: Development of Management Strategies for Livestock Grazing, Disturbance and Climate Variation for the Northern Plains

Location: Livestock and Range Research Laboratory

Title: Heterogeneity-based management restores diversity and alter vegetation structure without decreasing invasive grasses in working mixed-grass prairie

Author
item DUQUETTE, CAMERON - New Mexico State University
item McGranahan, Devan
item WANCHUK, MEGAN - North Dakota State University
item HOVICK, TORRE - North Dakota State University
item SEDIVEC, KEVIN - North Dakota State University
item LIMB, RYAN - North Dakota State University

Submitted to: Land
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/22/2022
Publication Date: 7/24/2022
Citation: Duquette, C., McGranahan, D.A., Wanchuk, M.R., Hovick, T., Sedivec, K., Limb, R. 2022. Heterogeneity-based management restores diversity and alter vegetation structure without decreasing invasive grasses in working mixed-grass prairie. Land. 11. Article 1135. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11081135.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/land11081135

Interpretive Summary: Exotic plants are a management concern in rangelands, but mechanical and chemical controls are costly and can have off-target effects. Patch-burn grazing has been shown to effectively restore rangeland diversity in the southern and central Great Plains, but research in the northern Great Plains is lacking. We conducted a four-year study comparing plant functional group abundance and diversity and spatial heterogeneity across patch-burn grazing and pastures managed with continuous and rotational grazing. Within 3-4 years, we found little evidence of decreased Kentucky bluegrass and smooth brome cover, but community composition in patch-burn treatments moved towards greater native species composition. Patch-burning is effective in restoring heterogeneity in rangeland vegetation structure even when exotic grasses persist.

Technical Abstract: Nonnative plants pose a variety of threats to grasslands, and can reduce biodiversity, degrade wildlife habitat, and threaten rural livelihoods. Eradication practices such as mechanical removal and herbicide application are costly and labor intensive, with variable levels of success. In addition, successful eradication of undesirable species does not guarantee the restoration of ecosystem service delivery. An alternative to complete eradication of invasive species in rangelands is to target the restoration of heterogeneous plant community structure, which has been shown to have direct links to ecosystem functioning. In this study, we evaluate the use of patch-burn grazing with one and two fires per year and variably-stocked rotational grazing in Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) and smooth brome (Bromus inermis) invaded grasslands using traditional (cover) and process-based (vegetation structural heterogeneity) frameworks in central North Dakota, USA. Within 3-4 years of initiating management, we found little evidence of decreased Kentucky blue-grass and smooth brome cover. However, community composition in patch-burn treatments moved towards greater native species composition. Patch-burning with one fire per year and variably-stocked rotational treatments had greater heterogeneity in vegetation structure. Alternative frameworks that promote grassland structural heterogeneity may favor the restoration of ecological services and processes at short time scales.