Differential Consumption of Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) by Avian and Mammalian Guilds: Implications for Tree Invasion

Horncastle, Valerie J.; Hellgren, Eric C.; Mayer, Paul M.; Engle, David M.; Leslie, David M.

doi:10.1674/0003-0031(2004)152[0255:dcoerc]2.0.co;2

Cited by 34 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana), a hardy, drought-tolerant species, is native to the eastern two-thirds of the continental United States and southeastern provinces of Canada. In the absence of periodic fire, eastern redcedar rapidly colonizes through prolific seed rain, spread of seeds by frugivorous wildlife (Horncastle et al 2004), and rapid growth after seedling establishment (Engle and Kulbeth 1992). By the mid twentieth century, eastern redcedar was recognized as potentially problematic on grazing lands of the Ozark Plateau (e.g., Martin and Crosby 1955).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landowners' perceptions of risk in grassland management: woody plant encroachment and prescribed fire

Harr

Morton

Rusk

et al. 2014

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Ecologists recognize that fire and herbivory are essential to maintaining habitat quality in grassland ecosystems. Prescribed fire and grazing are typically used on public reserves to increase biodiversity, improve grassland productivity, and control encroachment of woody plants. However, these tools, particularly prescribed fire, have not been widely adopted by private landowners. Fire suppression and prescribed fire are strategies that present competing risks to owners who make management decisions. We explore landowner perceptions of risk associated with (1) eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) encroachment, and (2) the use of prescribed fire to control woody species in the Grand River Grasslands of Iowa and Missouri, USA. We found that although mapping data of eastern redcedar in this region showed substantial encroachment over the past three decades, concept mapping of landowner beliefs and in-person interviews of local community leaders revealed that perceived risks associated with prescribed fire often outweighed those associated with loss of forage and grassland habitats.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landowners' perceptions of risk in grassland management: woody plant encroachment and prescribed fire

Harr

Morton

Rusk

et al. 2014

E&S

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“…Eastern redcedar (not analyzed in this study) is a favored species for windbreak plantings in the open grasslands and shrublands of the central US, as Osageeorange was in the past, and honeylocust also may be planted for landscaping where conditions are not moderated by forest cover. Red mulberry and pecan in particular may be spread by wildlife, similarly to eastern redcedar, which has expanded rapidly westwards, with greater documentation (Briggs et al, 2002;Horncastle et al, 2004). Some of the eastern species that expanded into the central United States shared the common trait of small size.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancement of tree species across ecotonal borders into non-forested ecosystems

Hanberry¹,

Hansen²

2015

Acta Oecologica

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“…Many species resprout following removal Knapp 2005, Ansley et al 2006), are dispersed by animal guilds at different stages of encroachment and spatial scales (Archer et al 1988, Horncastle et al 2004, and have the capacity to alter important abiotic parameters (Schlesinger et al 1990, Hibbard et al 2001). In our system, state-variable shifts appeared to characterize the shift from grassland to redcedar woodland (Limb et al 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental tree removal in tallgrass prairie: variable responses of flora and fauna along a woody cover gradient

Alford

Hellgren

Limb

et al. 2012

Ecological Applications

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Abstract. Woody plant encroachment is a worldwide phenomenon in grassland and savanna systems whose consequence is often the development of an alternate woodland state. Theoretically, an alternate state may be associated with changes in system state variables (e.g., species composition) or abiotic parameter shifts (e.g., nutrient availability). When statevariable changes are cumulative, such as in woody plant encroachment, the probability of parameter shifts increases as system feedbacks intensify over time. Using a Before-After Control-Impact (BACI) design, we studied eight pairs of grassland sites undergoing various levels of eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) encroachment to determine whether responses of flora and fauna to experimental redcedar removal differed according to the level of pretreatment redcedar cover. In the first year after removal, herbaceous plant species diversity and evenness, woody plant evenness, and invertebrate family richness increased linearly with pretreatment redcedar cover, whereas increases in small-mammal diversity and evenness were described by logarithmic trends. In contrast, increases in woody plant diversity and total biomass of terrestrial invertebrates were accentuated at levels of higher pretreatment cover. Tree removal also shifted small-mammal species composition toward a more grasslandassociated assemblage. During the second year postremoval, increases in herbaceous plant diversity followed a polynomial trend, but increases in most other metrics did not vary along the pretreatment cover gradient. These changes were accompanied by extremely high growingseason precipitation, which may have homogenized floral and faunal responses to removal. Our results demonstrate that tree removal increases important community metrics among grassland flora and fauna within two years, with some responses to removal being strongly influenced by the stage of initial encroachment and modulated by climatic variability. Our results underscore the importance of decisive management for reversing the effects of woody plant encroachment in imperiled grassland ecosystems.

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Differential Consumption of Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) by Avian and Mammalian Guilds: Implications for Tree Invasion

Cited by 34 publications

References 28 publications

Landowners' perceptions of risk in grassland management: woody plant encroachment and prescribed fire

Landowners' perceptions of risk in grassland management: woody plant encroachment and prescribed fire

Advancement of tree species across ecotonal borders into non-forested ecosystems

Experimental tree removal in tallgrass prairie: variable responses of flora and fauna along a woody cover gradient

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