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    Effects of hay management and native species sowing on grassland community structure, biomass, and restoration

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    Issue Date
    2009-10-01
    Author
    Foster, Bryan L.
    Kindscher, Kelly
    Houseman, Greg R.
    Murphy, Cheryl A.
    Publisher
    Ecological Society of America
    Type
    Article
    Article Version
    Scholarly/refereed, publisher version
    Rights
    Copyright by the Ecological Society of America.
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    Abstract
    Prairie hay meadows are important reservoirs of grassland biodiversity in the tallgrass prairie regions of the central United States and are the object of increasing attention for conservation and restoration. In addition, there is growing interest in the potential use of such low-input, high-diversity (LIHD) native grasslands for biofuel production. The uplands of eastern Kansas, USA, which prior to European settlement were dominated by tallgrass prairie, are currently utilized for intensive agriculture or exist in a state of abandonment from agriculture. The dominant grasslands in the region are currently high-input, low-diversity (HILD) hay fields seeded to introduced C3 hay grasses. We present results from a long-term experiment conducted in a recently abandoned HILD hay field in eastern Kansas to evaluate effects of fertilization, haying, and native species sowing on community dynamics, biomass, and potential for restoration to native LIHD hay meadow.

    Fertilized plots maintained dominance by introduced grasses, maintained low diversity, and were largely resistant to colonization throughout the study. Non-fertilized plots exhibited rapid successional turnover, increased diversity, and increased abundance of C4 grasses over time. Haying led to modest changes in species composition and lessened the negative impact of fertilization on diversity. In non-fertilized plots, sowing increased representation by native species and increased diversity, successional turnover, and biomass production. Our results support the shifting limitations hypothesis of community organization and highlight the importance of species pools and seed limitations in constraining successional turnover, community structure, and ecosystem productivity under conditions of low fertility. Our findings also indicate that several biological and functional aspects of LIHD hay meadows can be restored from abandoned HILD hay fields by ceasing fertilization and reintroducing native species through sowing. Declines in primary production and hay yield that result from the cessation of fertilization may be at least partially compensated for by restoration.
    Description
    This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://www.esa.org/esa.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13319
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.1890/08-0849.1
    ISSN
    1051-0761
    Collections
    • Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Scholarly Works [1516]
    • Environmental Studies Scholarly Works [62]
    Citation
    Bryan L. Foster, Kelly Kindscher, Greg R. Houseman, and Cheryl A. Murphy 2009. Effects of hay management and native species sowing on grassland community structure, biomass, and restoration. Ecological Applications 19:1884–1896. http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/08-0849.1

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    Contact KU ScholarWorks
    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    Image Credits
     

     

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