Review of Conservation Challenges and Possible Solutions for Grassland Birds of the North American Great Plains

Bernath-Plaisted, Jacy S.; Correll, Maureen D.; Somershoe, Scott G.; Dwyer, Angela M.; Bankert, Andy; Beh, Adam; Berlanga, Humberto; Boyle, W. Alice; Cruz-Romo, J. Lizardo; George, T. Luke; Herkert, James; Koper, Nicola; Macías-Duarte, Alberto; Panjabi, Arvind O.; Ramírez-Flores, Oscar M.; Robinson, Barry; Ruvalcaba-Ortega, Irene; Sibbing, Julie; Strasser, Erin H.; Titulaer, Mieke; Van Pelt, William E.; VerCauteren, Tammy

doi:10.1016/j.rama.2023.07.002

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 321 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This included C 4 mid-grass species, such as Bouteloua curtipendula and Panicum obtusum, that are valued as forage for cattle. However, it also included other C 4 mid-grass species, such as Aristida purpurea, Bothriochloa laguroides, Hilaria mutica, and Sporobolus compositus, that are not optimal for cattle grazing but are valuable for other grassland ecosystem services, such as wildlife cover, grassland obligate bird species, soil stability, wind erosion mitigation, and/or carbon sequestration [36][37][38]40,54]. Since gains in C 4 mid-grass cover under certain clipping and fire treatments were greater in Nassella than in Buchloe patches, we hypothesize that the potential for the landscape-scale transition towards C 4 mid-grasses under the right combination of fire and defoliation from grazing may depend, in part, on the percentage of the total area dominated by Nassella.…”

Section: Responses In Nassella Patchesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presence of larger C 4 mid-grasses in SGP grasslands increases landscape structural heterogeneity that enhances species diversity and ecosystem services. The numerous grass species within this type (see Appendix A) enhance the habitat for gallinaceous and other grassland obligate bird species [37,38] and cover for other wildlife species, including Odocoileus virginianus (white-tailed deer) and Antilocapra americana (pronghorn antelope) [11]. The greater root mass of C 4 mid-grasses compared to Buchloe or Nassella may also increase the potential for carbon sequestration and more diverse soil microbiomes [12,13,35].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Stability of C3 and C4 Grass Patches in Woody Encroached Rangeland after Fire and Simulated Grazing

Ansley,

Pinchak

2023

Diversity

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As the woody legume, Prosopis glandulosa (honey mesquite) has encroached into grasslands and rangelands in the southern Great Plains, USA, two grass species, C4 shortgrass, Buchloe dactyloides (buffalograss), and C3 mid-grass, Nassella leucotricha (Texas wintergrass), have increased in dominance. Occurrence of more productive C4 mid-grasses and herbaceous diversity have declined. We measured effects of various combinations of spring clipping (to simulate cattle grazing) and summer and/or winter fire treatments on the stability of monoculture patches of these two grass species over an eight-year period, with the goal of reducing Nassella and increasing C4 mid-grass cover. All fire treatments top-killed most Prosopis trees that subsequently resprouted. Buchloe cover declined in the No Clip + No Fire treatment but remained intact with clipping and/or fire. Frequent clipping reduced Nassella cover across all fire treatments. Buchloe encroachment into Nassella patches was greatest in the Clip + Alternate Season fire treatment. C4 mid-grass cover increased to 15–25% in Nassella patches in several fire-only or Clip + Fire treatments; greatest gains were observed in treatments that included summer fire. In contrast, C4 mid-grass gains were lower in Buchloe patches. These results suggest that C4 mid-grass restoration was linked with treatments that reduced Nassella cover.

show abstract

Section: Responses In Nassella Patchesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stability of C3 and C4 Grass Patches in Woody Encroached Rangeland after Fire and Simulated Grazing

Ansley,

Pinchak

2023

Diversity

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Seasonal and breeding phenologies of 38 grassland bird species in the midcontinent of North America

MacDonald,

Anteau,

Ellis

et al. 2024

Open-File Report

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Winter Bird Diversity and Community Structure in Relation to Shrub Cover and Invasive Exotic Natal Grass in Two Livestock Ranches in the Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico

Titulaer,

Aragón Gurrola,

Melgoza Castillo

et al. 2024

Birds

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Grasslands are one of the most threatened terrestrial biomes leading to a loss of grassland biodiversity, including birds. Here, we studied the wintering grassland bird diversity and community structure in two private livestock ranches in the Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico. We explored how bird communities are related to vegetation structure, including shrub cover and invasive exotic natal grass (Melinis repens), two drivers of grassland bird habitat degradation. We used Hill’s numbers to estimate taxonomic species richness and diversity and related these metrics to vegetation covariables using linear models. We employed nonmetric dimensional scaling (NMDS) to explore the importance of vegetation covariates in structuring bird communities. We found that bird species diversity was significantly and negatively related to bare ground cover at a plot level. At the ranch level, shrub cover, grass height and natal grass were important in structuring avian communities, negatively affecting the presence and abundance of grassland specialist bird species. Our results indicated that shrub encroachment and invasive exotic natal grass cover may alter grassland bird communities and should, therefore, be considered in grassland bird conservation management.

show abstract

Review of Conservation Challenges and Possible Solutions for Grassland Birds of the North American Great Plains

Cited by 4 publications

References 321 publications

Stability of C3 and C4 Grass Patches in Woody Encroached Rangeland after Fire and Simulated Grazing

Stability of C3 and C4 Grass Patches in Woody Encroached Rangeland after Fire and Simulated Grazing

Seasonal and breeding phenologies of 38 grassland bird species in the midcontinent of North America

Winter Bird Diversity and Community Structure in Relation to Shrub Cover and Invasive Exotic Natal Grass in Two Livestock Ranches in the Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About