Short and sparse vegetation near shallow gas wells has generally been attributed to residual effects from well construction, but other mechanisms might also explain these trends. We evaluated effects of distance to shallow gas wells on vegetation and bare ground in mixed-grass prairies in southern Alberta, Canada, from 2010 to 2011. We then tested three hypotheses to explain why we found shorter vegetation and more bare ground near wells, using cattle fecal pat transects from 2012, and our vegetation quadrats. We evaluated whether empirical evidence suggested that observed patterns were driven by (1) higher abundance of crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum) near wells, (2) residual effects of well construction, or (3) attraction of livestock to wells. Crested wheatgrass occurrence was higher near wells, but this did not explain effects of wells on vegetation structure. Correlations between distance to wells and litter depth were the highest near newer wells, providing support for the construction hypothesis. However, effects of distance to wells on other vegetation metrics did not decline as time since well construction increased, suggesting that other mechanisms explained observed edge effects. Cattle abundance was substantially higher near wells, and this effect corresponded with changes in habitat structure. Our results suggest that both residual effects of well construction and cattle behavior may explain effects of shallow gas wells on habitat structure in mixed-grass prairies, and thus, to be effective, mitigation strategies must address both mechanisms.
15 16 17 American badger habitat use in mixed-grass prairies. Rangeland Ecology and Management. 67: 18 247-254. 19 20 2. © 2014. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license 21 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ 22 3. 23 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2016.07.001 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 2 |Bylo et al. Abstract 31 32Ground squirrel (Spermophilus spp.) and American badger (Taxidea taxus) burrowing activities 33 are ecologically important disturbances that contribute to the heterogeneity of prairie 34 environments. These activities also have a strong impact on habitat suitability for many other 35 grassland species. However, effects of cattle grazing intensity on ground squirrel and American 36 badger burrows are not well understood. From 2006-2012, we evaluated effects of grazing 37 intensity and vegetation type on American badger burrow occurrence and ground squirrel burrow 38 abundance using a manipulative grazing experiment in Grasslands National Park of Canada, 39 Saskatchewan. The study area consisted of nine 300-ha pastures at a range of stocking rates, 40 from very low to very high for the region. Each pasture had ten plots (six upland and four 41 lowland) where vegetation and burrow surveys were completed. Burrow abundance and 42 occurrence, and vegetation structure, were assessed for 2 years prior to the introduction of cattle 43 to this landscape in 2008, which followed at least 15 years without livestock, and from 2009-44 2012, following introduction of livestock. Data were analyzed using generalized linear mixed 45 models. In upland habitats, ground squirrel burrow counts increased with increasing grazing 46 intensity and decreasing vegetation biomass; conversely, badger burrow occurrence increased 47 with decreased stocking rates and increasing average litter cover and vegetation biomass. 48 Abundance and occurrence of both ground squirrel and badger burrows in lowland habitats was 49 relatively independent of grazing intensity or vegetation. Vegetation composition had little 50 impact on ground squirrel or badger burrows. A range of grazing intensities may contribute to 51 maintaining diversity of burrowing mammals in prairie environments.52 53 3 |Bylo et al.
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