Degraded soil increases the performance of a dominant grass, Andropogon gerardii (Big bluestem)

Scott, Drew A.; Baer, Sara G.

doi:10.1007/s11258-018-0844-0

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…2003, Grace et␣al. 2016, Scott and Baer 2018). Our findings are consistent with a study from Oklahoma that evaluated vegetation production responses to precipitation and soil changes, including soil nutrients, pH, and bulk density, and found precipitation to be the most important driver of vegetation changes with soil pH playing a role as well (Zhou et␣al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant community responses to grassland restoration efforts across a large‐scale precipitation gradient

Watson

Houseman

Jameson

et al. 2021

Ecological Applications

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Identifying how plant species diversity varies across environmental gradients remains a controversial topic in plant community ecology because of complex interactions among putative factors. This is especially true for grasslands where habitat loss has limited opportunities for systematic study across broad spatial scales. Here we overcome these limitations by examining restored plant community responses to a large‐scale precipitation gradient under two common Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) restoration approaches. The two restoration strategies examined were CP2, which seeds a relatively low number of species, and CP25, which seeds a higher number of species. We sampled plant communities on 55 CRP fields distributed along a broad precipitation gradient (410–1,170 mm mean annual precipitation) spanning 650 km within the grassland biome of North America. Mean annual precipitation (MAP) was the most important predicator of plant species richness and had a positive, linear response across the gradient. To a lesser degree, restoration practices also played a role in determining community diversity. The linear increase in species richness across the precipitation gradient reflects the species pool increase from short to tallgrass prairie communities and explained most of the richness variation. These findings provide insight into the diversity constraints and fundamental drivers of change across a large‐scale gradient representing a wide variety of grassland habitats. Across a broad environmental gradient, initial planting differences between restoration practices had lower effects on plant diversity than expected. This suggests that new strategies are needed to effectively establish diverse plant communities on large‐scale restorations such as these.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant community responses to grassland restoration efforts across a large‐scale precipitation gradient

Watson

Houseman

Jameson

et al. 2021

Ecological Applications

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“…Big bluestem and little bluestem were the most abundant C 4 grasses in most of the prairies we sampled, probably at least partly because they were often sown in high densities. Site characteristics may also explain why restored prairies host high big and little bluestem abundance, including legacies of fertilization (Baer et al 2004; Faber & Markham 2012), altered microbial communities (Scott & Baer 2018), landscape context (Grman et al 2013; Zirbel et al 2019), or other factors. High big bluestem abundance may also be driven by unique traits of big bluestem.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Super‐abundant C₄ grasses are a mixed blessing in restored prairies

Grman

Zirbel

Bauer

et al. 2020

Restoration Ecology

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Forbs comprise most of the plant diversity in North American tallgrass prairie and provide vital ecosystem services, but their abundance in prairie restorations is highly variable. Restoration practitioners typically sow C4 grasses in high abundances because they are inexpensive, provide fuel for prescribed fires, can dominate reference sites, and suppress weeds that suppress sown forbs. However, C4 grasses can also suppress sown forbs, calling this practice into question. We evaluated how C4 grasses influence the abundance and diversity of sown forbs in 78 restored prairies across Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. We found that the direct negative effects of C4 grasses on sown forbs outweighed indirect positive effects that occurred as C4 grasses suppressed nonsown species, which in turn suppressed sown forbs. This pattern was especially strong for the C4 grass big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii). Therefore, strategies to promote big bluestem and other C4 grasses would not promote sown forbs. Although C4 grass cover was not strongly related to two hypothesized drivers (time since fire or site age), seeding density of C4 grasses increased their cover. Sown forb cover also increased with forb seeding density, increased indirectly with fire (through its negative effect on nonsown species), and decreased indirectly with soil water‐holding capacity (through its positive effect on nonsown species). These results highlight the complex interplay of species groups during grassland restoration and show how managers can promote sown forbs in restored prairies: increasing forb seeding density and reducing time since fire and the abundance of C4 grasses and weeds.

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“…K. Kirkman et al, 2016). Additionally, in tallgrass prairies, the dominant grass, Andropogon gerardii, has also been found to perform very well in degraded, nutrient poor, sites (Scott & Baer, 2018) In addition to soil characteristics, water availability also strongly influences plant communities, with soil moisture often limiting plant growth. In LLP savannas, increased soil moisture (often tributed to elevation gradients and soil composition) is associated with increased productivity, wiregrass biomass and richness (Carr et al, 2009;Drewa et al, 2002b;Ford et al, 2008;L.…”

Section: Predictors Of the Three Restoration Targetsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understory dynamics in North Carolina longleaf pine savannas: Biodiversity, dominance, and biomass

Young

Koerner

2022

J Vegetation Science

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Questions Restoration of ecosystems is complex, with multiple targets that can work in concert or conflict with each other, such as biodiversity, species dominance and biomass. When properly managed, longleaf pine (LLP) savannas are among the most biologically diverse habitats in the world. However, anthropogenic influences, such as fire suppression, have decimated this ecosystem and its biodiversity, making restoration a priority. Here, we describe the biodiversity and community dynamics seen in the understory layer across xeric LLP savannas in North Carolina and then answer the following questions: What are the predictors of (1) biodiversity, (2) dominance and (3) biomass at multiple spatial scales? Location Fifteen observational study sites in North Carolina spanning from the Sandhills to the Coastal Plain. Methods At each of the 15 sites, 25 sampling plots were established where above‐ground herbaceous biomass, species presence and abundance, soil characteristics and light availability were measured along with numerous other environmental variables. Results Considerable variation exists across study plots within and across sites, with plant species richness ranging from 1 to 17 per m2. The relative cover of the dominant grass species, Aristida stricta (wiregrass), also varied greatly within and across sites, with a median of ca. 30% relative cover per plot. Wiregrass was a significant predictor of biomass and biodiversity at small scales. With increasing wiregrass abundance, richness decreases, with 25% relative wiregrass cover leading to the highest levels of biodiversity. Likewise, because wiregrass abundance is one of the stronger predictors of above‐ground biomass, we also found a unimodal richness–biomass relationship. Conclusions Our results indicate that at lower ends of the productivity and richness gradients, land managers can increase all three restoration targets in the understory at the same time; however, at more diverse and productive sites, restoration practitioners may need to prioritize one target or find a balance between all three.

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Degraded soil increases the performance of a dominant grass, Andropogon gerardii (Big bluestem)

Cited by 6 publications

References 56 publications

Plant community responses to grassland restoration efforts across a large‐scale precipitation gradient

Plant community responses to grassland restoration efforts across a large‐scale precipitation gradient

Super‐abundant C₄ grasses are a mixed blessing in restored prairies

Understory dynamics in North Carolina longleaf pine savannas: Biodiversity, dominance, and biomass

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Degraded soil increases the performance of a dominant grass, Andropogon gerardii (Big bluestem)

Cited by 6 publications

References 56 publications

Plant community responses to grassland restoration efforts across a large‐scale precipitation gradient

Plant community responses to grassland restoration efforts across a large‐scale precipitation gradient

Super‐abundant C4 grasses are a mixed blessing in restored prairies

Understory dynamics in North Carolina longleaf pine savannas: Biodiversity, dominance, and biomass

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Super‐abundant C₄ grasses are a mixed blessing in restored prairies