Range Improvement following Chaining of South Texas Mixed Brush

Scifres, C. J.; Mutz, J.L.; Durham, Geoff

doi:10.2307/3897156

Cited by 15 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Untreated sites, one 1,140 ha and one 679 ha, consisted of undisturbed brush with small areas that were chained during 1976. Chaining in south Texas brushlands reportedly does not significantly reduce woody plant diversity (Scifres et al 1976).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 94%

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Long-Term Effects of Root Plowing on Vegetation in the Eastern South Texas Plains

Ruthven¹,

Fulbright²,

Beasom³

et al. 1993

Journal of Range Management

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The long-term effects of root plowing ln plant communities in south Texas are not clearly understood. Our objective was to compare plant species composition and diversity on root-plowed rangelands and untreated rangelands. Two rangeland sites that were root plowed during 1973-74 and 2 sites of native, untreated brush were selected on the Santa Gertrudis Division of the King Ranch, Kleberg and Jim Wells counties, Texas. Woody plant canopy cover was estimated with the line intercept method, and density was estimated with 20-x l-m plots during 1990. Herbaceous canopy cover was estimated with 20 x 50-cm quadrats. Percent grass, litter, and bare ground coverage were similar on root-plowed and untreated rangelands. Woody plant species and diversity averaged 19 f 2 species/ treatment (Z f SE) and 2.56 f 0.15 on untreated areas compared to 7 f 1 species/treatment and 1.18 f 0.01 on root-plowed areas. Forb canopy coverage on root-plowed sites was about twice that of untreated sites. Huisache (Acucia smalfZIlsey) canopy cover and density were both more than 'I-fold greater on root-plowed sites than on untreated sites. Browse species preferred by white-tailed deer (OdocoiZeus virginianus Raf.), such as colima [Zanttroxylumfirgora (L.) Sarg.] and guajillo (Acucia berlandieri Benth.), were absent on root-plowed sites.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Greater canopy cover of herbaceous vegetation 16 to 18 years after root plowing was similar to the short-term observations of Drawe (1977) on the Texas coastal prairies. Double chaining and raking in south Texas (Scifres et al 1976) and double chaining in central Texas (Rollins and Bryant 1986) also resulted in increased herbaceous coverage.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Effects of Root Plowing on Vegetation in the Eastern South Texas Plains

Ruthven¹,

Fulbright²,

Beasom³

et al. 1993

Journal of Range Management

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“…For example, Celtis and Aloysia possessed the most morphologically distinct variants of the root crown sprouting trait, and developed larger canopies than the other species following stem removal. Other studies in the region have documented similar and longer-term increases in relative canopy cover for Celtis and Aloysia in stands regenerating from simple top removal (Scifres, Mutz & Durham 1976;Koerth et al 1989). The relatively large root crowns of these two species, may provide increased surface area for subterranean meristems as well as an increased volume of stored nutrients required for regrowth.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Variation in basal sprouting in co‐occurring shrubs: implications for stand dynamics

Flinn

Scifres

Archer

1992

J Vegetation Science

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Abstract. Sources of basal sprouting for five shrub species representing five plant families common to the Tamaulipan biotic province were quantified, following four intensities of top removal. Among undisturbed shrubs, Celtis pallida and Zanthoxylum fagara were somewhat arborescent, with one or two dominant primary stems per plant. Aloysia gratissima, Ziziphus obtusifolia and Schaefferia cuneifolia were fruticose in architecture, with more and smaller stems. Following top removal, each species exhibited a distinct regenerative hierarchy whereby shoot production following disturbance was primarily from structures immediately subtending the removed tissues, even though more distal tissues had the capacity for shoot production. Thus, removal of stems to a 5 cm residual increased the contribution of primary stems from stem bases, whereas stem removal to ground line typically induced regeneration from root crowns. Schaefferia, Zanthoxylum and Ziziphus were capable of producing shoots from root tissue, yet regeneration from roots was not stimulated until tissues were removed to below root crowns. Field observations indicate that most woody species in the subtropical thorn woodlands of southern Texas, USA, are highly persistent in the face of natural and anthropogenic disturbance, owing to their ability to regenerate vegetatively. Alternative sources of stem replacement contribute to the high resilience of these shrubs following disturbance and may help explain or predict patterns of secondary succession and plant persistence following various intensities of disturbance.

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“…With the development of heavy machinery in the mid -twentieth century, South Texas landowners began to convert these thorn woodlands back to grasslands to benefit livestock production. Mechanical treatments effectively manage woody vegetation and enhance herbaceous vegetation (Scifres et al 1976, Bozzo et al 1992a. Total plant removal methods such as root plowing are the most effective in managing woody plants (Allison and Rechenthin 1956) and have an extended treatment life (Welch et al 1985).…”

Section: Resúmenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mechanical top removal methods such as chaining (Scifres et al 1976) and roller chopping (Fulbright and Beasom 1987) are less destructive of woody plant diversity than root plowing, but treatment life is generally short (Welch et al 1985).…”

Section: Resúmenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation Response of a Mesquite-Mixed Brush Community to Aeration

Ruthven¹,

Krakauer²

2004

Journal of Range Management

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Responses of plant communities to mechanical treatments such as aeration on semiarid rangelands are not clearly understood. Our objective was to compare woody and herbaceous plant cover, density, and diversity on aerated and nontreated rangelands. Five rangeland sites that were aerated with a double /tandem drum aerator during summer 1998 and 5 sites of nontreated rangeland were selected for study on the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area, La Salle County, Tex. Woody plant cover was estimated using the line-intercept method, and stem density was estimated in 30 x 1.5 m plots in 1999 and 2000. Forb and grass cover and density were estimated in 20 x 50 cm quadrats during spring and fall 1999. Woody and herbaceous plant diversity did not differ between treatments. On aerated sites percent woody plant cover was 4-fold less 1-year after aeration and increased 89% from the first to the second growing-season post treatment. Canopy cover of honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa Torr.), twisted acacia (Acacia schaffneri S. Wats.), and Texas pricklypear (Opuntia lindheimeri Engelm.) was greater on nontreated sites. By the second growing season after aeration, density of honey mesquite was greater on aerated sites, whereas Texas pricklypear had declined on aerated sites. Density of spiny hackberry (Celtis pallida Torr.) and Texas persimmon (Diospyros texana Scheele) was greater on aerated sites during the first growing-season post treatment. Cover and stem density of hog-plum (Colubrina texana T. & G.), coma (Bumelia celastrina Kunth), and whitebrush [Aloysia gratissima (Gill. & Hook.

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Range Improvement following Chaining of South Texas Mixed Brush

Cited by 15 publications

References 4 publications

Long-Term Effects of Root Plowing on Vegetation in the Eastern South Texas Plains

Long-Term Effects of Root Plowing on Vegetation in the Eastern South Texas Plains

Variation in basal sprouting in co‐occurring shrubs: implications for stand dynamics

Vegetation Response of a Mesquite-Mixed Brush Community to Aeration

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