Plant Communities and Associated Soil and Water Factors of Shale‐Derived Soil in Northeastern Montana

Branson, F. A.; Miller, R. F.; McQueen, I. S.

doi:10.2307/1935375

Cited by 21 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Slopes show signs of sheet and gullying erosion, with over 90% of the surface made up of exposed soil. A similar vegetation association has been described by Branson et al (1970) in Valley County and by Vanderhorst et al (1998) for Garter Gounty; both of their studies indicated acid shales as the determinant of the unusual and depauperate vegetation. The examples from the literature occurred on gently rolling terrain whereas this type was only represented on steep slopes on the RNA.…”

Section: Stipa Comata -Bouteloua Gracilis -Carex Fiufoua Herbaceous Vsupporting

confidence: 81%

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Biodiversity and representativeness of research natural areas on national wildlife refuges in Montana, designated areas within Benton Lake, Charles M. Russell, Lake Mason, Medicine Lake, and Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuges : final report

Cooper¹,

Heidel²

1999

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Appendix A. Community survey form Appendix B. Plant species of special concern survey form Appendix C. Photographs of state-significant vegetation features Appendix D. Vegetation constancy-cover sampling data Appendix E. Element occurrence records for Montana plant species of special concern Appendix F. Illustrations of Montana plant species of special concern Appendix G. Vascular plants cited in this report, by common names, scientific names, and six-letter acronyms From the early years of wildlife management and the emphasis on regulating mortality and productivity for individual species, the scope has broadened to managing species' habitat, habitat processes, and the fauna and flora at large. The USFWS adopted an ecosystem approach to fish and wildlife conservation in 1994, defined as "Protecting or restoring the function, structure, and species composition of an ecosystem, recognizing that all components are interrelated" (Martin 1996). Ecosystem management and sustainability hinge on the maintenance of plant and animal species diversity as well as natural processes, including disturbance (e. g. fire, grazing), succession, and evolution. Biological processes and biodiversity can be defined at a variety of spatial and temporal scales, including genetic, species, population, community, ecosystem, landscape and regional (Noss 1983). Like the "ecosystem management" term, "natural" has acquired numerous potential meanings. A conceptual point of reference in considering "natural conditior«" is comparison to the ecosystem's condition prior to European settlement, though this is not readily reconstructed in grassland landscapes, complicated by their dynamic nature at several short-and long-term scales. Using a compendium of historic information (Knowles and Knowles 1993) and current information, preliminary deductions and identification of geographic priorities can be developed. On this basis, some of the National Wildlife Refiiges or areas within them offer the last or best vestiges of natural conditions as reference areas for ecosystem management. Research Natural Areas are critical to ecosystem management in the following ways: Reference and Monitoring Sites: The number of examples of natural ecosystems that remain is finite and shrinking as landscapes are altered and degraded (Noss 1987). It is judicious to manage some ecosystems for their existing natural conditions to reduce the risks associated with our limited knowledge of ecosystem functions and to insure ecosystem diversity, health, and sustainability. Many natural resource management activities can be conceived of as experiments; their outcome, including changes in vegetation, animal populations, soils quality, plant susceptibility to insect and disease vectors, and changes in future productivity are, at best, incompletely understood (Franklin 1992). As such, reference points are needed to evaluate the experiment's success. Regardless of the entity monitored, small mammal demography, breeding bird success, neotropical migrant birds, health of endangered sp...

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Section: Stipa Comata -Bouteloua Gracilis -Carex Fiufoua Herbaceous Vsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…This localized and small patch association is found on the island's uppermost outcrops and has been previously described in the Limber Pine RNA, in Valley County(Branson et al 1970) and in Carter County(Vanderhorst et al 1998). Soils of this site possess no horizons and are weathered from a very dark grey, possibly acidic, shale and bentonite.…”

supporting

confidence: 75%

Biodiversity and representativeness of research natural areas on national wildlife refuges in Montana, designated areas within Benton Lake, Charles M. Russell, Lake Mason, Medicine Lake, and Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuges : final report

Cooper¹,

Heidel²

1999

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“…Roseana was derived directly from a wild collection taken in southeast Montana (USDA-SCS, 1984). Western wheatgrass is moderately tolerant of saline conditions (Branson et al, 1970). Each of the 24 soil samples was represented by three replicates, with all samples from each site planted together in a block of six 5 × 5 × 10 cm cells.…”

Section: Bioassay Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is tamarisk allelopathic?

Lesica

DeLuca

2004

Plant Soil

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Tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb., T. chinensis Lour.), a pernicious invader of riparian areas in the western U.S., is often considered to be allelopathic by virtue of an ability to exude salt from its leaves. However, there is no evidence demonstrating allelopathy or even salinization of soils under tamarisk. We collected soil samples from beneath and just outside of tamarisk canopies at 12 sites along a 110-km reach of Fort Peck Reservoir in northeastern Montana. Samples were analyzed for electrical conductivity (EC), pH and concentration of several nutrients. Plants of western wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii Rydb.), the dominant herbaceous native plant in habitats invaded by tamarisk, were grown in the soil samples as a bioassay. We used principal components analysis (PCA) to explore how intercorrelated soil variables were affected by a tamarisk canopy. EC averaged more than twice as high under a tamarisk canopy than in the open. However, western wheatgrass plants growing in tamarisk-affected soil were 73% larger than those in unaffected soil. PCA analysis indicated that soil beneath a tamarisk canopy had higher values along a gradient of increasing EC and total inorganic N and decreasing pH and NH + 4 /NO − 3 ratio. This same gradient was also associated with increasing growth of the bioassay. We hypothesize that this fertilization was due to leaf secretions and/or leaf fall, possibly by increased input of nitrogenous organic compounds or increased P solubility. Our study provided no support for an allelopathic effect of tamarisk.

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“…Branson et al (1970) used soil moisture stress in distinguishing plant communities of Willow Creek basin, Montana. They compared the forests on the basis of climatic data, emphasizing especially the ratio of PEjP which is an inverse measure of effective moisture.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationships between vegetation and climate in the Upper Catchment area of the Narmada river, Central India

Murthy

1978

Vegetatio

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Plant Communities and Associated Soil and Water Factors of Shale‐Derived Soil in Northeastern Montana

Cited by 21 publications

References 12 publications

Biodiversity and representativeness of research natural areas on national wildlife refuges in Montana, designated areas within Benton Lake, Charles M. Russell, Lake Mason, Medicine Lake, and Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuges : final report

Biodiversity and representativeness of research natural areas on national wildlife refuges in Montana, designated areas within Benton Lake, Charles M. Russell, Lake Mason, Medicine Lake, and Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuges : final report

Is tamarisk allelopathic?

Relationships between vegetation and climate in the Upper Catchment area of the Narmada river, Central India

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