Another tool in the toolbox? Using fire and grazing to promote bird diversity in highly fragmented landscapes

Pillsbury, F. C.; Miller, James R.; Debinski, Diane M.; Engle, David M.

doi:10.1890/es10-00154.1

Cited by 45 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…For example, meadowlark species that we recorded during winter exhibited very generalist behavior, similar to their patch use during the breeding season (Fuhlendorf et al 2006, Pillsbury et al 2011). Additionally, Le Conte's Sparrows were most abundant in undisturbed patches similar to the vegetation they are most abundant in during the breeding season (Igl and Johnson 1999), and Savannah Sparrows were widespread across all patch types reflecting their generalist approach to nesting habitat (Bollinger 1995).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Structural heterogeneity increases diversity of non‐breeding grassland birds

2014

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Abstract. Grassland birds have experienced greater population declines than any other guild of birds inNorth America, and yet we know little about habitat use and the affects of management during their nonbreeding period on wintering grounds. The paucity of information on wintering grassland birds limits our ability to develop effective conservation strategies. We investigated habitat use by the winter bird community in grasslands with restored heterogeneity resulting from the interactive effects of fire and grazing. We used 500 m line transects distributed across patches (i.e., ,13, 13-24, and .24 months post disturbance) resulting from spring burning with growing season grazing (April-Sept) and quantified avian relative abundance, community structure, and probability of patch occupancy while accounting for imperfect detection. Grassland structure that resulted from the fire-grazing interaction created heterogeneity among patches that influenced avian habitat use during winter. Generalist birds such as the Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) and meadowlarks (Sturnella spp.) were relatively common in all patch types while more specialized species such as the Smith's Longspur (Calcarius pictus) and Le Conte's Sparrow (Ammodramus leconteii ) reached greatest abundance and probability of occupancy in the patches with the least and greatest time post disturbance, respectively. This research provides novel information on the response of wintering birds to restored ecological processes in grasslands and can improve efforts to create effective conservation strategies. Our findings add to a growing body of literature supporting the use of fire and grazing to create a shifting grassland mosaic that increases vegetation structural and compositional heterogeneity and maximizes native biodiversity within rangeland ecosystems through the conservation of natural patterns and processes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Structural heterogeneity increases diversity of non‐breeding grassland birds

2014

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“…The sites used in this study were a subset of sites from a larger research project established in 2006 that compared burn-only, patch-burn grazed, and burn-and-grazed pastures [47]. All treatments included sites with and without a recent history of grazing, as well as both remnant and previously tilled acreage.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All treatments included sites with and without a recent history of grazing, as well as both remnant and previously tilled acreage. Sites were therefore distributed among treatments nonrandomly, so that each treatment contained a range of land use histories [47]. These land use histories are discussed in detail in McGranahan et al [48].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exotic-Dominated Grasslands Show Signs of Recovery with Cattle Grazing and Fire

et al. 2016

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In grasslands, overgrazing by domestic livestock, fertilization, and introduction of exotic forage species leads to plant communities consisting of a mixture of native and exotic species. These degraded grasslands present a problem for land managers, farmers, and restoration ecologists concerned with improving biodiversity while continuing to use the land for livestock production. Here we assessed the response of butterfly and plant community composition to the use of fire and moderate grazing by domestic cattle on degraded grasslands dominated by exotic plants. We evaluated change by comparing experimental pastures to two reference sites that were grasslands dominated by native plants. We used two burning and grazing treatments: 1) patch-burn graze, a heterogeneously managed treatment, where one third of the pasture is burned each year and cattle have free access to the entire pasture, and 2) graze-and-burn, a homogenously managed treatment, where the entire pasture is grazed each year and burned in its entirety every three years. We tested for change in the butterfly and plant community composition over seven years using Bray-Curtis dissimilarity measures. Over the course of seven years, degraded pastures in both treatments became more similar to reference sites with respect to the butterfly and plant communities. Only two butterfly species and two plant functional guilds exhibited significant linear trends over time, with varying responses. Compositional changes in both the butterfly and plant communities indicate that the use of moderate grazing and fire may shift butterfly and plant communities of exotic-dominated grasslands to be more similar to reference tallgrass prairies over time.

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“…From Whittaker plot data, proportion native plant cover was calculated using the following equation: proportion native plant cover = total native plant cover / (total native plant cover + total exotic plant cover). Other vegetation characteristics were sampled in thirty 0.5 m 2 quadrats that were placed systematically within each patch as described in Pillsbury et al (2011). Variables measured were vegetation height (referred to as visual obstruction in Robel et al 1970), percent cover of bare ground, and percent canopy cover of non-leguminous forbs.…”

Section: Vegetation Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of grassland management practices on ant functional groups in central North America

et al. 2013

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Tallgrass prairies of central North America have experienced disturbances including fire and grazing for millennia. Little is known about the effects of these disturbances on prairie ants, even though ants are thought to play major roles in ecosystem maintenance. We implemented three management treatments on remnant and restored grassland tracts in the central U.S., and compared the effects of treatment on abundance of ant functional groups. Management treatments were: (1) patch-burn graze-rotational burning of three spatially distinct patches within a fenced tract, and growing-season cattle grazing; (2) graze-and-burn-burning entire tract every 3 years, and growing-season cattle grazing, and (3) burn-only-burning entire tract every 3 years, but no cattle grazing. Ant species were classified into one of four functional groups. Opportunist ants and the dominant ant species, Formica montana, were more abundant in burn-only tracts than tracts managed with either of the grazing treatments. Generalists were more abundant in graze-and-burn tracts than in burn-only tracts. Abundance of F. montana was negatively associated with pre-treatment time since fire, whereas generalist ant abundance was positively associated. F. montanawere more abundant in restored tracts than remnants, whereas the opposite was true for subdominants and opportunists. In summary, abundance of the dominant F. montana increased in response to intense disturbances that were followed by quick recovery of plant biomass. Generalist ant abundance decreased in response to those disturbances, which we attribute to the effects of competitive dominance of F. montana upon the generalists. Abstract. Tallgrass prairies of central North America have experienced disturbances including fire and grazing for millennia. Little is known about the effects of these disturbances on prairie ants, even though ants are thought to play major roles in ecosystem maintenance. We implemented three management treatments on remnant and restored grassland tracts in the central U.S, and compared the effects of treatment on abundance of ant functional groups. Management treatments were: 1) patch-burn grazerotational burning of three spatially distinct patches within a fenced tract, and growing-season cattle grazing; 2) graze-and-burn -burning entire tract every 3 yrs, and growing-season cattle grazing, and 3) burn-only -burning entire tract every 3 yrs, but no cattle grazing. Ant species were classified into one of four functional groups. Opportunist ants and the dominant ant species, Formica montana, were moreThe final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10841-013-9554-z.2 abundant in burn-only tracts than tracts managed with either of the grazing treatments. Generalists were more abundant in graze-and-burn tracts than in burn-only tracts. Abundance of F. montana was negatively associated with pre-treatment time since fire, whereas generalist ant abundance was positively associated. Formica montana were more abundant in restored tracts than ...

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Another tool in the toolbox? Using fire and grazing to promote bird diversity in highly fragmented landscapes

Cited by 45 publications

References 46 publications

Structural heterogeneity increases diversity of non‐breeding grassland birds

Structural heterogeneity increases diversity of non‐breeding grassland birds

Exotic-Dominated Grasslands Show Signs of Recovery with Cattle Grazing and Fire

Effects of grassland management practices on ant functional groups in central North America

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