Degradation and restoration in remnant tallgrass prairie: Grazing history, soil carbon, and invasive species affect community composition and response to the fire-grazing interaction
Degradation and restoration in remnant tallgrass prairie: Grazing history, soil carbon, and invasive species affect community composition and response to the fire-grazing interaction
Date
2008-01-01
Authors
Mcgranahan, Devan
Major Professor
Advisor
David M. Engle
Committee Member
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Altmetrics
Authors
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Natural Resource Ecology and Management
Organizational Unit
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Series
Department
Natural Resource Ecology and Management
Abstract
Soil resources, patterns of disturbance, and invasion by exotic species interact to affect the composition of vegetation communities in working rangeland landscapes. We use an NMDS ordination technique to describe the variation among tallgrass prairie communities in terms of soil organic carbon concentrations, grazing history, and the extent of invasion by tall fescue. We also describe how restoration of the fire-grazing interaction -- the single disturbance effected by grazers following spatially discreet fire events -- can control invasive species and rehabilitate ecosystem processes and function.