Untangling the effects of fire, grazing, and land-use legacies on grassland butterfly communities

Moranz, Raymond A.; Debinski, Diane M.; McGranahan, Devan Allen; Engle, David M.; Miller, James R.

doi:10.1007/s10531-012-0330-2

Cited by 80 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…When ungulates are stocked heavily, they can consume enough plant biomass to reduce the amount of phytophagous invertebrate prey available to ants (Tscharntke andGreiler 1995, Sutter andRitchison 2005). At our study tracts, grazing reduced vegetation height by almost 50% in 2008 and 2009 (Moranz et al 2012). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

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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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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…A map showing the location of these tracts can be found in Moranz et al (2012). Three tracts had been restored to grassland from row crops between 1980 and 2004, and nine tracts were tallgrass prairie remnants.…”

Section: Study Tractsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2013

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“…For example, in the Grand River Grasslands, grassland bird communities were similar in pastures managed for heterogeneity as compared to pastures managed for homogeneity, although bird communities in pastures under heterogeneity-based management appeared to differentiate over time from pastures managed with homogeneous fire regimes . Likewise, invertebrate community responses to heterogeneitybased management were weak, with differences in community composition driven primarily by pasture-level land use history , Moranz et al, 2012.…”

Section: Connecting Habitat Variables To Responses Of Rangeland Faunamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While heterogeneity-based management has been shown to meet the needs of rangeland umbrella species like prairie grouse (Derner et al, 2009, Patten et al, 2007, individual species can benefit from specific habitat outcomes even if the entire community does not show a consistent response to management (Hovick et al, 2012, Moranz et al, 2012, Powell, 2008. Although desirable, it is not necessary for environmental management to meet the conservation needs of every species, nor are conservation projects necessarily unsuccessful if the needs of the entire community are not met.…”

Section: Evaluation Of Rangeland Management Must Match Policy Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inconsistent outcomes of heterogeneity-based management underscore importance of matching evaluation to conservation objectives

McGranahan

Engle

Fuhlendorf

et al. 2013

Environmental Science & Policy

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Winter, Stephen L.; Miller, James R.; and Debinski, Diane M., "Inconsistent outcomes of heterogeneity-based management underscore importance of matching evaluation to conservation objectives" (2013 AbstractConservation policy often incentivizes managers of human-impacted areas to create landscape heterogeneity to maximize biodiversity. In rangeland, patchy disturbance regimes create landscape heterogeneity (patch contrast), but outcomes of heterogeneity-based management are rarely tested for a universal response. We analyzed four habitat variables-vegetation structure, plant functional group composition, litter cover, and bare ground-from five experimental rangelands in Oklahoma and Iowa, USA. We tested for response consistency to heterogeneity-based management across and within locations. We calculated effect sizes for each variable to compare patch contrast on pastures managed for heterogeneity (patch burn-grazing) and pastures managed for homogeneity (grazing with homogeneous fire regimes). Effects varied considerably across and within locations. Effects of heterogeneity-based management were positive for all variables at only three of five experimental rangeland locations. No location showed a consistent pattern of positive effect across all four variables, although one location showed no effect for any variable. At another location, we found a positive effect of heterogeneity-based management on litter cover and bare ground, but no effect on vegetation structure and plant functional group composition. We discuss effect variability and how the fire-grazing interaction applies to rangeland management and conservation. Although it is accepted practice to use heterogeneity-based management to increase rangeland habitat diversity, managers should also confirm that evaluation metrics match desired conservation outcomes.

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“…Analyses of butterfly communities in diverse environments show that butterflies can react in different ways to fire: they may benefit (Swengel 1996;Huntzinger 2003;Kaynaş & Gürkan 2008;Verdasca et al 2012), be unresponsive (Fleishman 2000;Moranz et al 2012), or, as is often the case for specialist species, disappear (Swengel 1996(Swengel , 1998Taron 1997;Cleary & Genner 2004;Moranz et al 2012). However, when the fire is very frequent, it always reduces abundance and species richness and leads to local extinctions of Lepidoptera species, as showed in American temperate grass-seed fields (Crawford & Harwood 1964), Borneo forests (Cleary & Mooers 2004) and prairies (Schlicht & Orwig 1998;Swengel 1998Swengel , 2001Swengel et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-term effects of fire on Papilionoidea (Lepidoptera) communities: a pilot study in Mediterranean maquis shrubland

Scandurra

Magliozzi

Aria

et al. 2014

Italian Journal of Zoology

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In the Mediterranean landscape fires are common, sometimes arising due to human activity. Fire influences the amount of sunlight that reaches the ground, thus affecting the diversity and distribution of animal and plant species. In this study, we analysed the effect of fire on butterfly diversity at the Site of Community Importance (SCI) "Monti di Lauro" (IT8040013) in southern Italy (Campania). The area covers 7040 ha and is mainly characterised by Mediterranean maquis and woody vegetation. We compared the flight activity of butterflies before and after a fire Our results show that after fire in the Mediterranean maquis, a rapid change in butterfly community structure occurred, increasing both species and individual abundance. Nevertheless, a lower evenness indicates a less balanced butterfly community after fire. Notably, Melanargia arge, a protected species by the Habitats Directive, was not observed following the fire.

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Untangling the effects of fire, grazing, and land-use legacies on grassland butterfly communities

Cited by 80 publications

References 54 publications

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

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

Inconsistent outcomes of heterogeneity-based management underscore importance of matching evaluation to conservation objectives

Short-term effects of fire on Papilionoidea (Lepidoptera) communities: a pilot study in Mediterranean maquis shrubland

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