Grazing Preferences and Vegetation Feedbacks of the Fire-Grazing Interaction in the Northern Great Plains

Powell, J. B.; Martín, B.; Dreitz, Victoria J.; Allred, Brady W.

doi:10.1016/j.rama.2017.09.003

Cited by 23 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…This could be the case of A. purpusii, for which burning would appear to have influenced growth more than with other species, homogenizing the vegetation along the way. Previous studies in other grasslands in the northern hemisphere have reported that cattle show significant preference for recently burned patches, and this preference declines with time [36,37]. The same trend was observed for tropical savannas with pines, where fire suppression management is implemented using cattle grazing to reduce fire risk [38].…”

Section: Vascular Plant Assemblages Before and After Burningmentioning

confidence: 56%

Changes in Vegetation of Flooded Savannas Subject to Cattle Grazing and Fire in Plains of Colombia

Herrera

Ballera

Manríquez

et al. 2021

Land

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Cattle grazing and fire are common types of management on natural ecosystems, generating several threats to the conservation of native vegetation (e.g., changes in species richness, cover, and abundance, mainly of bovine-palatable species). In this work, we analysed the response of the structure and composition of vegetation managed with different cattle stocking rates and fire in the savanna ecosystems of Colombia. The study was located in the eastern area of the Llanos region, where savannas were subjected to grazing and burning. Regarding grazing, we classified the area according to the cattle stocking rate (Bos indicus ~300 kg): NG = non-grazed, LS = low stocking rate (0.5 ind ha−1 yr−1), and HS = high stocking rate (1.0 ind ha−1 yr−1). Controlled artificial burning was applied in all the area at the beginning of the study, and surveys were conducted in the same plots at pre-burn (t0) and four post-burn times (t1, t2, t3, t4), at 15, 45, 75 and 105 days after burning. Vegetation composition (species list, life-form, palatability) and structure (bare soil and vascular plant ground covers, species height and richness) were recorded at each sampling. Data were compared through ANOVAs and multivariate analyses. We found 53 species in total: 26 in the pre-burn treatment and 44 in the post-burn treatments, detecting an increase of 18 species considering all treatments. Seven natives and two exotic species represented the dominant cover (>50%). LS and HS had the highest number of palatable species in t0 (seven species) compared with NG (two species), but this became similar after burning (14 species in NG, 12 in LS, and 11 in HS). ANOVAs and multivariate analyses showed that plant assemblages were significantly different according to the grazing treatment, and more homogeneous in pre-burn than in post-burn periods. Cattle grazing favored higher covers of dominant palatable species (e.g., Axonopus purpusii) compared with NG, but many native species with high palatability only recovered within the system after burning. In the context of the current management proposals, the search for new alternatives other than intensive cattle grazing and burning is needed to reconcile human production activities, international commitments against climate change and biodiversity conservation in the savanna landscapes.

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Section: Vascular Plant Assemblages Before and After Burningmentioning

confidence: 56%

Changes in Vegetation of Flooded Savannas Subject to Cattle Grazing and Fire in Plains of Colombia

Herrera

Ballera

Manríquez

et al. 2021

Land

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“…Our prior study included 1 year of pretreatment data for the newly established grazing experiment, one postburn year (2004, 2 years after burning and 2 years after the study was established), and one 5‐year recovery year (2007). Cattle preference, use, and grazing utilization in recently burned patches decline as time since fire increases (Allred et al, 2011; Powell et al, 2018). Thus, it may be more likely to detect a fire and grazing interaction 1–2 years after burning compared with 5 years after burning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Better understanding of cattle grazing and fire interactions in dry forests is critical because growing wildfire risks have prompted increased use of intentional burning or prescribed fire to reduce fuel loads and wildfire impacts, and achieve other ecological restoration goals (McWethy et al, 2019; North et al, 2021; Prichard et al, 2021; Stephens et al, 2020; USDA, Forest Service, 2022). Despite widespread cattle grazing in forested rangelands, manipulative fire and grazing studies in the west outside of nonforested areas are rare (Pekin et al, 2015; Powell et al, 2018; Royo et al, 2010; Wisdom et al, 2006; Zimmerman & Neuenschwander, 1984). We investigated the understory vegetation response to cyclical fall and spring prescribed fire and cattle grazing exclusion in ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa ) forest stands and report long‐term responses 12–18 years after the first entry fires.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long‐term frequent fire and cattle grazing alter dry forest understory vegetation

Kerns,

Day

2024

Ecological Applications

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Understanding fire and large herbivore interactions in interior western forests is critical, owing to the extensive and widespread co‐occurrence of these two disturbance types and multiple present and future implications for forest resilience, conservation and restoration. However, manipulative studies focused on interactions and outcomes associated with these two disturbances are rare in forested rangelands. We investigated understory vegetation response to 5‐year spring and fall prescribed fire and domestic cattle grazing exclusion in ponderosa pine stands and reported long‐term responses, almost two decades after the first entry fires. In fall burn areas open to cattle grazing, total understory cover prior to utilization was about 12% lower compared with fall burn areas where cattle were experimentally excluded. This response was not strongly driven by a particular palatable or unpalatable plant functional group. Fire and grazing are likely interacting in a numerically mediated process, as we found little evidence to support a functionally moderated pathway. Post‐fire green‐up may equalize forage to a certain extent and concentrate herbivores in the smaller burned areas within pastures, constraining a positive understory response to burning. Fall fire and grazing also increased annual forbs and resprouting shrubs. The effects of spring burning were relatively minor, and we found no interaction with grazing. The nonnative annual grass Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass) remains a problematic invader linked to fall burning but not grazing in stands that had higher propagule pressure when the experiment was initiated. At these sites, exotic grass was a major component of the vegetation by 2015, and invasion was also increasing in spring burn and unburned areas. Information from our study suggests that frequent fall fires and cattle grazing combined may reduce understory resilience in similar dry ponderosa pine forests. Consideration of longer fire return intervals, resting areas after fire, virtual fencing, or burning entire pastures may help to mitigate the effects noted in this study.

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“…Tallgrass prairies, with grass higher than 200 cm, occupy the wetter eastern region. The biophysical settings affect the disturbance regimes of fire and grazing, and human activities influence the development and maintenance of the grassland ecosystems of the Great Plains region [16,17].…”

Section: Woody Encroachment In the Great Plains Of North Americamentioning

confidence: 99%

Grassland Resilience to Woody Encroachment in North America and the Effectiveness of Using Fire in National Parks

Ling,

Wang,

et al. 2023

Climate

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The grasslands of North America are threatened by woody encroachment. Restoring historical fire regimes has been used to manage brush encroachment. However, fire management may be insufficient due to the nonlinear and hysteretic responses of vegetation recovery following encroachment and the social–political constraints affecting fire management. We synthesized the fire thresholds required to control woody encroachment by typical encroaching species in North America, especially the Great Plains region, and identified the social–political constraints facing fire management in selected grassland national parks. Our synthesis revealed the resistance, hysteresis, and irreversibility of encroached grasslands using fire and emphasized the need for a combination of brush management methods if the impacts of climate change are to be addressed. Frequent fires alone may maintain grassland states, reflecting resistance. However, high-intensity fires exceeding fire-mortality thresholds are required to exclude non-resprouting shrubs and trees, indicating hysteresis. Fire alone may be insufficient to reverse encroachment by resprouting species, exhibiting reversibility. In practice, appropriate fire management may restore resistant grassland states. However, social–political constraints have restricted the use of frequent and high-intensity fires, thereby reducing the effectiveness of management actions to control woody encroachment of grasslands in national parks. This research proposes a resilience-based framework to manage woody encroachment in grassland national parks and similar protected areas.

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Grazing Preferences and Vegetation Feedbacks of the Fire-Grazing Interaction in the Northern Great Plains

Cited by 23 publications

References 44 publications

Changes in Vegetation of Flooded Savannas Subject to Cattle Grazing and Fire in Plains of Colombia

Changes in Vegetation of Flooded Savannas Subject to Cattle Grazing and Fire in Plains of Colombia

Long‐term frequent fire and cattle grazing alter dry forest understory vegetation

Grassland Resilience to Woody Encroachment in North America and the Effectiveness of Using Fire in National Parks

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