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ARS Home » Plains Area » Mandan, North Dakota » Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #401693
Research Project: Sustainable Agricultural Systems for the Northern Great Plains

Location: Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory

Title: Using axillary buds to assess the impact of management strategies on the abundance of invasive cool-season grasses

Author
item Hendrickson, John
item Toledo, David
item Carrlson, Andrew
item Binstock, Levi
item DEKEYSER, EDWARD - North Dakota State University
item Kobilansky, Chantel

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/2023
Publication Date: 3/15/2023
Citation: Hendrickson, J.R., Toledo, D.N., Carrlson, A.J., Binstock, L.J., Dekeyser, E., Kobilansky, C.L. 2023. Using axillary buds to assess the impact of management strategies on the abundance of invasive cool-season grasses. Meeting Abstract. 1.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Rangelands in the northern Great Plains historically have been characterized by high species diversity which is threatened by a rapid increase of invasive cool-season grasses, primarily smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermus Leyss.) and Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.). Reducing the proportion of smooth bromegrass and Kentucky bluegrass in the species composition requires understanding how management strategies can influence future populations. Examining axillary buds, a primary source of future productivity in Great Plains grasslands, can help to identify the influence of management on future populations. We evaluated how management strategies impact the axillary buds of Kentucky bluegrass and smooth bromegrass at the Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory in Mandan, North Dakota. In Experiment 1, rainout shelters were used to simulate drought on 2 x 2 m plots that then had ½ of the area (1x2m) burned in the fall of 2017, 2019 and 2020. The experiment was replicated 3 times in 3 different blocks. Five cm in diameter plugs 2.5 cm deep were taken from each plot in spring and fall of 2020 and 2021. Plugs were cleaned and then a 0.1% (w/v) solution of 2,3,5- triphenyl tetrazolium was used to determine viability. In Experiment 2, 50 ungrazed smooth bromegrass tillers in 3 different exclosures were marked with a colored wire and randomly assigned to a vegetative, elongation or reproductive defoliation in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Marked tillers were excavated in the fall of each year and the number of axillary buds recorded and viability assessed. Burning under moderate drought reduced the number of Kentucky bluegrass axillary buds; however, smooth bromegrass tillers defoliated in the reproductive stage produced more tillers than the undefoliated controls. Both experiments indicate that management strategies can affect the abundance of invasive cool-season grasses and that axillary buds provide an early indication of that impact.