Echoes of the Chisholm Trail: Texas: A Biological Crossroads

Smeins, Fred E.

doi:10.2458/azu_rangelands_v26i5_smeins

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…The research was conducted in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metropolitan area, Texas ( Fig 1 ). Settlement of DFW began in the mid-19 th century, with ranching as the primary economic activity [ 30 ]. The first major period of population growth in the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth occurred in the late 1880s, while significant population growth in the intermediate cities did not occur until a half century later [ 31 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ambient urban N deposition drives increased biomass and total plant N in two native prairie grass species in the U.S. Southern Great Plains

et al. 2021

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Remnants of native tallgrass prairie experience elevated atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition in urban areas, with potential effects on species traits that are important for N cycling and species composition. We quantified bulk (primarily wet) inorganic N (NH4+-N + NO3--N) deposition at six sites along an urban development gradient (6–64% urban) in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area from April 2014 to October 2015. In addition, we conducted a phytometer experiment with two common native prairie bunchgrass species––one well studied (Schizachyrium scoparium) and one little studied (Nasella leucotricha)––to investigate ambient N deposition effects on plant biomass and tissue quality. Bulk inorganic N deposition ranged from 6.1–9.9 kg ha-1 yr-1, peaked in spring, and did not vary consistently with proportion of urban land within 10 km of the sites. Total (wet + dry) inorganic N deposition estimated using bulk deposition measured in this study and modeled dry deposition was 12.9–18.2 kg ha-1 yr-1. Although the two plant species studied differ in photosynthetic pathway, biomass, and tissue N, they exhibited a maximum 2-3-fold and 2-4-fold increase in total biomass and total plant N, respectively, with 1.6-fold higher bulk N deposition. In addition, our findings indicate that while native prairie grasses may exhibit a positive biomass response to increased N deposition up to ~18 kg ha-1 yr-1, total inorganic N deposition is well above the estimated critical load for herbaceous plant species richness in the tallgrass prairie of the Great Plains ecoregion and thus may negatively affect these plant communities.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%