Avian Habitat Following Grazing Native Warm-Season Forages in the Mid-South United States

Harper, Craig A.; Birckhead, Jessie L.; Keyser, Patrick D.; Waller, John C.; Backus, Matt M.; Bates, Gary E.; Holcomb, Elizabeth D.; Brooke, Jarred M.

doi:10.1016/j.rama.2015.01.005

Cited by 19 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…An important caveat to our results is that although the type of grazing management implemented in our study (continuous season‐long) is common, other grazing regimes may not yield the same results that we observed, particularly if bermudagrass spread is driven by greater insolation from reductions in plant height and canopy coverage (Dong & de Kroon ; Bresciano et al ). For example, season‐long grazing may increase and maintain openness at ground level whereas early‐season grazing (for 30 days in May) can result in greater vegetation density later in the growing season (Harper et al ). Similarly, although prescribed fire is recommended to maintain NWSG (Harper et al ), years without burns could retain residual structure from previous years and thus limit bermudagrass spread compared with burned and grazed NWSG.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, less precipitation in 2012 during the early part of the growing season (April–June) could have subjected native forages to additional stress and further limited their ability to compete with bermudagrass when grazed. Reduced stocking rates, deferment, or rest from grazing may maintain productivity of NWSG (Mousel et al ; Chamberlain et al ; Harper et al ) and thereby their competitive advantage over shorter species such as bermudagrass.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spread of exotic grass in grazed native grass pastures and responses of insect communities

Monroe

Hill

Martin

2016

Restoration Ecology

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Exotic grasses are widely established across the Southeastern United States for livestock forage, resulting in the structural and compositional simplification of grasslands. Replacing exotic forages with native warm‐season grasses (NWSG) could benefit insects due to increased complexity of plant structure and composition, but livestock grazing also may facilitate spread of remnant exotic grasses such as bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) by reducing height and coverage of NWSG. We investigated these relationships among 12 operational‐scale pastures (6.4–10.5 ha) in Mississippi, U.S.A., during May–July (2011–2012). We quantified changes in bermudagrass coverage from one treatment of grazed exotic forages and three treatments of recently established NWSG, including a grazed mixed NWSG polyculture, a grazed Indian grass (Sorghastrum nutans) monoculture to evaluate the effects of stand‐type richness among NWSG pastures, and a non‐grazed NWSG polyculture to evaluate the effects of grazing. We also assessed responses of two insect orders, Orthoptera and Hemiptera, to treatment and bermudagrass coverage. We estimated a 101–190% average increase in coverage of bermudagrass in grazed native grass pastures (NWSG polyculture and Indian grass monoculture), but not in non‐grazed NWSG, suggesting that grazing facilitated the spread of this grass. Composition of Orthopteran and Hemipteran communities was correlated with bermudagrass coverage, and inter‐year differences in composition for both communities in grazed mixed NWSG, and for Hemiptera in grazed Indian grass, corresponded with increasing bermudagrass coverage in those treatments. Our results suggest that incomplete eradication of exotic forages prior to establishment of NWSG may be exacerbated by grazing, which could then impact stand condition and insect communities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spread of exotic grass in grazed native grass pastures and responses of insect communities

Monroe

Hill

Martin

2016

Restoration Ecology

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“…However, replacing introduced species will not, by itself, produce grasslands that can benefit avifauna—at least for extended periods of time. Where rainfall exceeds approximately 95 cm annually, grasses can become too dense and do not provide desirable cover for species such as bobwhite in the absence of disturbance (Harper et al ). In traditional conservation approaches, such disturbance has been provided through various interventions, including discing, mowing, herbicide application, and burning, alone or in combination (e.g., Adams et al ).…”

Section: Context For Eastern Grasslands Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, use of NWSGs, which do not have toxicity issues, during summer could reduce cattle exposure to fescue toxins while improving drought resiliency (Buttrey et al , Burns and Fisher , Caldwell et al ). Furthermore, NWSGs may benefit wildlife habitat (Harper et al , Monroe et al , West et al ), soil health (McLaughlin and Walsh , Franzluebbers and Hill ), and avoid negative effects to soil biota associated with endophyte‐infected fescue (Antunes et al , Mack and Rudgers ). Within areas where bermudagrass is prevalent, advantages from converting pastures to NWSGs are less pronounced (e.g., no fescue toxicosis, bermudagrass is also a warm‐season forage), but there are still important benefits such as providing greater carrying capacity in limited‐fertility environments, cheaper production costs (C. Boyer, University of Tennessee, unpublished data), greater adaptability to marginal sites, and greater rates of gain (Burns and Fisher , Monroe et al , Zechiel ).…”

Section: A Working‐lands Model For Eastern Grasslandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A number of studies have found that grassland‐dependent birds may exploit switchgrass biomass production fields at some level (Murray and Best , Roth et al , West et al , Conkling et al ). Modifications to a native‐based biomass model could be developed, including incorporation of legumes as an alternate nitrogen source (Ashworth et al ), multispecies mixes (McIntosh et al , Conkling et al ), or grazing (Harper et al , Backus et al ) that could enhance wildlife habitat quality. Regardless, the sheer scale of a prospective biomass energy industry mandates that conservationists remain engaged and work toward a best‐case scenario for grasslands wildlife.…”

Section: Barriers To Implementing a Working‐lands Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Eastern grasslands: Conservation challenges and opportunities on private lands

et al. 2019

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Grasslands were once common in the eastern United States and provided habitat for numerous grassland-dependent wildlife. However, native grasslands in this region have largely been eliminated as a result of conversion to other land uses (e.g., urban development, row-crops), altered disturbance regimes (e.g., lack of fire and grazing), or conversion to introduced grasses for livestock production. Consequently, many wildlife species adapted to these environments have experienced protracted population declines, notably, northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), and other grassland-dependent bird species. Restoration of native grasslands with appropriate native plant species composition, structure, and disturbance regimes will be key to restoring at-risk wildlife. Indeed, the region still includes >20 million ha of grasslands, but these are dominated by introduced grass species and focused on cattle (Bos taurus) production. Any successful restoration strategy must engage the agricultural community, provide profitable forage production, and benefit habitat for wildlife. Furthermore, grassland ecosystems in humid regions (i.e., >95 cm annual rainfall) require frequent disturbance to prevent succession to forested conditions. Historically, these native grasslands were maintained by fire, herbivory, and their interaction. Consequently, wildlife communities in humid, native grasslands are adapted to those same disturbances and the conditions they create. Improving species composition by replacing introduced, sod-forming grass species commonly used in production agriculture (e.g., tall fescue [Schedonorus arundinaceus] and bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon]) with native grasses can be beneficial but must be accompanied by appropriate disturbance to achieve and maintain improved habitat. Therefore, developing a business case for producers to incorporate native grasses into regional agro-grasslands that include disturbance through grazing may foster large-scale improvements in habitat quality. Although Farm Bill conservation practices can make important contributions to conservation of eastern grassland-dependent wildlife, such programs are dependent on uncertain and limited federal budgets and, to provide appropriate disturbance, require management intervention at a net cost to landowners and Farm Bill programs. Thus, there exists an opportunity to improve habitat at a scale that has the potential to sustain viable populations of grassland-dependent wildlife. Therefore, we discuss the potential of a new conservation paradigm, one based on grazing systems that utilize native grasses, for filling that conservation gap.

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Forage species and summer management impacts on soil carbon and nitrogen in winter stockpiled grazing systems

Tilhou

Nave

Jagadamma

et al. 2021

Agrosystems Geosci & Env

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Soil organic matter (SOM) in managed grasslands have economic and environmental benefits. This experiment evaluated a stockpiled winter grazing system with two summer management treatments (grazing or hay harvest) and three forage species treatments: tall fescue (TF, Schedonorus arundinaceus Schreb.), switchgrass (SG, Panicum virgatum L.), and mixed big bluestem–Indiangrass [BBIG, Andropogon gerardii Vitman–Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash]. Soil was sampled on 18 dates (January 2016–July 2017) at two depths (0–5 and 5–15 cm) in 15 paddocks in central Tennessee. Total organic carbon and total nitrogen concentrations in 0–5‐cm samples were greater in grazed paddocks relative to hay harvest, and greater in TF relative to BBIG and SG. Summer grazing also resulted in greater 0–5‐cm permanganate‐oxidizable carbon (POXC) and 5–15 cm hot‐water extract ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm (A254). Hot‐water extractable carbon, A254, and POXC concentrations were reduced in SG soils compared with TF and BBIG. Summer hay harvests, compared with grazing, reduced hot‐water extractable C/N in both soil horizons in TF. The interactions between management and plant species suggests contrasting nutrient cycling associated with TF and the morphologically different native grasses BBIG and SG. This study represents the first observations of soil impacts within stockpiled grazing systems and the first observations of grazed native grass species in the southeastern United States.

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Avian Habitat Following Grazing Native Warm-Season Forages in the Mid-South United States

Cited by 19 publications

References 25 publications

Spread of exotic grass in grazed native grass pastures and responses of insect communities

Spread of exotic grass in grazed native grass pastures and responses of insect communities

Eastern grasslands: Conservation challenges and opportunities on private lands

Forage species and summer management impacts on soil carbon and nitrogen in winter stockpiled grazing systems

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