A manual and software for common statistical methods for ecological and biodiversity studies
A life cycle assessment with carbon (C) as the reference unit was used to balance the benefits of land preparation practices of establishing tall-grass prairies as a crop for reclaimed mine land with reduced environmental damage. Land preparation and management practices included disking with sub-soiling (DK-S), disking only (DK), no tillage (NT), and no tillage with grazing (NT-G). To evaluate the C balance and energy use of each of the land preparations, an index of sustainability (I s = C O /C I , Where: C O is the sum of all outputs and C I is the sum of all inputs) was used to assess temporal changes in C.Of the four land preparation and management practices, DK had the highest I s at 8·53. This was due to it having the least degradation of soil organic carbon (SOC) during land-use change (À730 kg ha À1 y À1 ) and second highest aboveground biomass production (9,881 kg ha À1 ). The highest aboveground biomass production occurred with NT (11,130 kg ha À1 ), although SOC losses were similar to DK-S, which on average was 2,899 kg ha À1 y À1 . The I s values for NT and DK-S were 2·50 and 1·44, respectively. Grazing from bison reduced the aboveground biomass to 8,971 kg ha À1 compared with NT with no grazing, although stocking density was low enough that I s was still 1·94. This study has shown that converting from cool-season forage grasses to tall-grass prairie results in a significant net sink for atmospheric CO 2 3 years after establishment in reclaimed mine land, because of high biomass yields compensating for SOC losses from land-use change.
Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) was planted during the reclamation process to reduce erosion and improve nitrogen content of the soil. However, since its establishment, E. umbellata has spread prolifically and control measures are difficult. The primary objective of this case study was to evaluate the effectiveness of various control methods on eradication of E. umbellata in varying degrees of infestation. A two-phase case study was conducted at The Wilds conservation center in Cumberland, OH. Phase 1 began in 2007-2008 to evaluate three treatments in areas with moderate cover (15-30%) of E. umbellata: mechanical removal, foliar herbicide and dormant stem herbicide. Nine 200m 2 study plots were established with three replications of each treatment. Effectiveness of each treatment was evaluated in 2009 through tracking 225 individual shrubs. The foliar herbicide controlled 98% of E. umbellata; dormant stem herbicide achieved 71% and the mechanical treatment controlled only 15%. Statistical comparisons indicated the foliar and dormant stem herbicides were more effective (P = 0.0008) than mechanical removal. This suggests that foliar applications can be a reliable tool for control of E. umbellata in areas with a 15-30% density level. Based on these findings, phase 2 of this study was initiated in 2010 to evaluate removal techniques in dense shrub infestations (95-100%). Treatments included a combination of mechanical clearing then a chemical treatment of stumps to reduce re-sprouts. The fracture treatment was most effective during the second phase (63%) when compared to the cut-stump (46%) mechanical treatment (P = 0.004). Results demonstrate that a combined mechanical-chemical approach is efficient in dense infestations. Mechanical land clearing through fracture and re-sprout treatment appeared to be most effective in E. umbellata control and the most cost effective in dense cover; however replicated studies are needed to provide conclusive information about the fracture re-sprout treatment.
Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) was planted during the reclamation process to reduce erosion and improve nitrogen content of the soil. However, since its establishment, E. umbellata has spread prolifically and control measures are difficult. The primary objective of this case study was to evaluate the effectiveness of various control methods on eradication of E. umbellata in varying degrees of infestation. A two-phase case study was conducted at The Wilds conservation center in Cumberland, OH. Phase 1 began in 2007-2008 to evaluate three treatments in areas with moderate cover (15-30%) of E. umbellata: mechanical removal, foliar herbicide, and dormant stem herbicide. Nine 200m 2 study plots were established with three replications of each treatment. Effectiveness of each treatment was evaluated in 2009 through tracking 225 individual shrubs. The foliar herbicide controlled 98% of E. umbellata; dormant stem herbicide achieved 71 % and the mechanical treatment controlled only 15 %. Statistical comparisons indicated the foliar and dormant stem herbicides were more effective (P = 0.0008) than mechanical removal. This suggests that foliar applications can be a reliable tool for control of E. umbellata in areas with a 15-30 % density level. Based on these findings, phase 2 of this study was initiated in 2010 to evaluate removal techniques in dense shrub infestations (95-100 %). Treatments included a combination of mechanical clearing then a chemical treatment of stumps to reduce re-sprouts. The fracture treatment was most effective during the second phase (63 %), when compared to the cut-stump (46 %) mechanical treatment (P = 0.004). Results demonstrate that a combined mechanical-chemical approach is efficient in dense infestations. Mechanical land clearing through fracture and re-sprout treatment appeared to be most effective in E. umbellata control and the most cost effective in dense cover; however replicated studies are needed to provide conclusive information about the fracture re-sprout treatment.
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