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66 results for “tallgrass prairie”
PAB01 Aboveground net primary productivity of tallgrass prairie based on accumulated plant biomass on core LTER watersheds (001d, 004b, 020b)
Data set contains estimates of end-of-season standing crop biomass (grams per square meter) of live graminoids, forbs, woody plants, and previous year's dead vegetation for 2 soil types (shallow and deep) on three core LTER watersheds representing three fire frequency treatments. Twenty quadrats (0.1 square meters) are harvested for each soil/treatment type. NOTE: Early (April) and mid-season (July) biomass was collected from 1983-1988, and these data are available by request.
Comparing the impacts of patch-burn grazing on vegetation in two northern tallgrass prairies
The management practice of patch-burn grazing varies grazing pressure across a site by rotating burn locations, thereby creating spatial heterogeneity in vegetation height and density (structure). Patch-burn grazing increases the range of habitats available for different wildlife species, but it may also unintentionally affect plant invasion and plant biodiversity. We evaluated the effects of patch-burn grazing on plant communities in two northern tallgrass prairies. Both dry-mesic prairie sites were in Minnesota, USA, on similar soils and undergoing invasion by the non-native, cool-season grass smooth brome (Bromus inermis). The sites had different cattle stocking rates and burning practices (3 or 5 burn units). We established 15-20 pairs of plots per site with a fence around one member of each pair. We measured vegetation structure, native and non-native plant richness, smooth brome frequency, and frequency-weighted mean coefficients of conservatism (mean C) over 5-6 years across two treatments: patch-burn grazing and burning-without-grazing. At the site with a lower stocking rate and more burn units, grazing promoted spatial heterogeneity by reducing vegetation structure 18-65 percentage points in some units and some years. In both treatments, native richness increased 15% over 6 years, but smooth brome frequency increased over 200%, suggesting that adjustments in management are needed to suppress smooth brome. At the site with a higher stocking rate and fewer burn units, grazing reduced vegetation structure 37-78 percentage points in all units and all years, but native richness was maintained over time. Grazing also increased non-native richness 38 percentage points and reduced mean C by 6 percentage points over 2 years. Smooth brome frequency increased 2% over 2 years in both treatments. Patch-burn grazing at this site may have increased richness of annual or biennial non-native plant species. At both sites, long-lived perennials may drive the resilience of nat
ASR01 Short-term assessment of effects of burning on infiltration, runoff, and sediment and nutrient loss on Tallgrass Prairie using rainfall simulation, 1989
Rainfall simulation and overland flow experiments were performed on four plots at a single site on Konza from May to August, 1989. Two plots were treated with a late spring burn and two plots were left unburned. Five simulations were performed on burned plots and three simulatons on unburned plots. Each simulation consisted of a “dry run” followed 24 hours later by a 'wet run'. The dry run consisted of rainfall applied at an intesity of approximately 60 mm/hour. The wet run was the same as a dry run, except when the rainfall was complete, overland flow was applied directly at the top of the plots to simulate run off coming from upslope. Measurements taken include overland flow velocity, water application rate, runoff, hydrograph, water flow depth, sediment content, nitrogen and phosphorus content and percent ground cover (See A.B. Duell, Effects of burning on infiltration, overland flow, and sediment loss on tallgrass prairie, M.S. thesis, Kansas State University, 82pp. for further details).
ESM01 Fire and grazing modulate the structure and resistance of plant-floral visitor networks in a tallgrass prairie
Data from the study: Welti, E.A.R. and Joern, A. 2017. Fire and Grazing modulate the structure and resistance of plant-floral visitor networks in a tallgrass prairie. Oecologia 186: 447-458. EMS011 dataset contains counts of blooming inflorescences of plant species on 12 Konza watersheds in June-July of 2014; ESM012 dataset contains associations between flower-visiting insects and insect-pollinated flowering plants on 12 Konza watersheds collected in May-July of 2014; ESM013 dataset describes insects belonging to the orders of Coleoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera collected in pantrap transects on 12 Konza watersheds collected in June - July of 2014.
WAT03 Climate legacy effects shape tallgrass prairie nitrogen cycling
Climate change is expected to shift precipitation regimes in the North American Central Plains with likely impacts on ecosystem functioning. In tallgrass prairies, water and nitrogen (N) can co-limit ecosystem processes, so changes in precipitation may have complex effects on carbon (C) and N cycling. Rates of N supply such as N mineralization and nitrification respond differently to short- and long-term patterns in water availability, and previous climate patterns may exert legacy effects on current N cycling that could alter ecosystem sensitivity to current precipitation regimes. We used a long-term precipitation manipulation at Konza Prairie (Kansas, USA) to assess how previous and current precipitation influence tallgrass prairie N cycling. Supplemental irrigation was applied across upland and lowland prairie for ~25 years to reduce water deficits; in 2017, we reversed some of these treatments and added a reduced rainfall treatment across both historic rainfall regimes, allowing us to assess how previous climate and current rainfall patterns interact to shape N cycling. In lowland prairie, previous irrigation doubled N mineralization and nitrification rates the year following cessation of irrigation. Reduced microbial C/N ratio and lower relative investment in N-acquiring enzymes in previously irrigated lowlands suggested that a wetter climate created a legacy of increased N availability for microbes. Internal plant N resorption increased under short-term irrigation but recovered to ambient levels following previous irrigation. Together, these results suggest that a history of wetter conditions prairie can create a legacy of accelerated N cycling and with consequences for both plant and microbial functioning.
RIV07 Seeding rates woody removal of a tallgrass prairie stream and riparian zone after a decade of woody vegetation removal
In fall of 2010 in watershed N2B ( 39.088976°, -96.588599°), we established plant community plots to assess the potential ability of the riparian zone to shift to a grassland state based on cutting alone and cutting with replanting. The three treatments were 1) naturally open riparian grassland before the removal, 2) areas cleared of woody vegetation, and 3) areas cleared of woody vegetation and seeded with prairie plant species. The addition of the seeded treatment was designed to address if recovery of grassland vegetation is hindered by propagule limitation. The seeded and non-seeded removal plots were adjacent to each other and randomly assigned. In each community type, there were four plots, each of which was 10 m parallel along and 3 m perpendicular to the stream channel. Each plot had four plant composition transects along which we sampled four one m2 subplots along each transect. Vegetative cover of vascular plant species was determined using a modified Daubenmire scale (Gibson and Hulbert 1987).
WEE01 Impacts of riparian and non-riparian woody encroachment on tallgrass prairie ecohydrology
Plant xylem water samples were collected from Cornus drummondii (rough-leaf dogwood), Andropogon gerardii (big bluestem), Quercus macrocarpa (bur oak), and Quercus muehlenbergii (chinquapin oak) during the summer of 2016. Soil cores were also collected during the summer of 2016 to collect soil water from the surface to 200 cm depth. Isotope values (δ18O and δ2H) were analyzed for each water sample to determine depth of plant water uptake.
NTF01 Volume and chemistry of throughfall in tallgrass prairie
Amounts and nitrogen content of water passing through the canopy of tallgrass prairie are compared to similar measurements of bulk precipitation. Measurements include nitrate, ammonia, phosphate and organic nitrogen and phosphorus content of bulk precipitation and throughfall. Variables of interest include vegetation type and amounts, time of year, and time since burning.
PAB04 Aboveground primary productivity of tallgrass prairie based on accumulated plant biomass on miscellaneous LTER watersheds
Data set contains estimates of end-of-season standing crop biomass (grams per square meter) of live graminoids, forbs, woody plants, current year's dead, and previous year's dead vegetation for 2 soil types (shallow and deep) on watersheds of various burning-grazing treatments. Twenty quadrats (0.1 square meters) are harvested for each soil/treatment type. NOTE: Early (April) and mid-season (July) biomass was collected from 1983-1988, and these data are vailable by request.
PBB01 Belowground Plot Experiment: Aboveground net primary productivity of tallgrass prairie based on accumulated plant biomass
To address the potential interactive effects of fire, aboveground biomass removal, and nutrient amendments on above- and belowground responses, a long-term field experiment was initiated in 1986 as part of the Konza Prairie Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program. The general goals of this experiment are: 1) to document both short- and long-term responses of plants and soils to fire, aboveground biomass removal (a surrogate for grazing in these small plots), and nutrient amendments (additions of N and/or P); and 2) to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying tallgrass prairie responses to fire, aboveground biomass removal and nutrient enrichment. Peak foliage biomass is measured annually in late fall (September to October) on the 64 belowground plots. Effects of burning, mowing and N + P additions on aboveground NPP are measured. Two 0.1m2 quadrats harvested per plot). 2003 was the last year the mowing treatment was implemented.
PEB01 Aboveground net primary productivity of tallgrass prairie based on accumulated plant biomass in grazing exclsoures on bison-grazed watersheds
Data set contains estimates of end-of-season standing crop biomass (grams per square meter) of live graminoids, forbs, woody plants, and previous year's dead vegetation in grazing exclosures. Date from exclosures is used to determine long-term effects of bison grazing on aboveground net primary productivity.
PAB03 Aboveground primary productivity of tallgrass prairie based on accumulated plant biomass on LTER watersheds burned at different seasons
Data set contains estimates of standing crop biomass (grams per square meter) of live graminoids, forbs, woody plants, and previous year's dead vegetation for 2 soil types (shallow and deep) and seasonal burning treatments (spring, summer, fall, winter).
VIR01 Effects of invertebate and vertebrate herbivory on tallgrass prairie plant community composition and biomass, Konza Prairie LTER
The effects of herbivores and their interactions with nutrient availability on primary production and plant community composition in grassland systems is expected to vary with herbivore type. Although nutrient additions are known to affect plant species diversity and primary productivity, the role of herbivores in mediating the strength of these effects also remains unclear. Herbivores may alter plant responses to nutrient additions in several ways. First, herbivores can alter the plant community response to nutrient additions by either selectively feeding on particular groups of species (e.g. grasses versus forbs) or by generally opening up space, allowing for species turnover and immigration. Second, feeding by herbivores may reduce the production response to nutrient additions if the plants cannot compensate for tissue lost to herbivory. As the functional effects of vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores on plant community composition and production may vary, the interactive effects of vertebrate versus invertebrate herbivores with nutrient additions may also vary. Here we are experimentally assessing the independent and interactive effects of removing vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores on aboveground biomass and plant community composition in native tallgrass prairie. Further, we are examining whether the removal of vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores interacts with nutrient availability. By doing this, we address three related questions: 1) what is the relative strength of the effects of invertebrate versus vertebrate herbivory in a grassland system; 2) how does herbivory (invertebrate and/or vertebrate) affect the relative abundances of grasses and forbs, the two dominant plant functional types within the ecosystem; and 3) what are the consequences of these changes in composition for aboveground net primary productivity, an important ecosystem function?
PAB05 Aboveground net primary productivity of tallgrass prairie based on accumulated plant biomass on the LTER fire reversal experiment watersheds
Data set contains estimates of end-of-season standing crop biomass (grams per square meter) of live graminoids, forbs, woody plants, and previous year's dead vegetation for 2 soil types (shallow and deep) on the four Fire Reversal Experiment watersheds. This experiment is based on reversing fire treatments on four watersheds, two of which had a history of annual spring burning and two of which had a history of long-term fire suppression. The dataset includes both pre- and post-fire treatments.
N cycling summary 2020-2022 of annually burned bison, cattle and ungrazed experimental watersheds on upland tallgrass prairie soils at the Konza Prairie Biological Station
Nitrogen (N) is a necessary element of soil fertility and a limiting nutrient in tallgrass prairie but grazers like bison and cattle can also recycle N. Bison and cattle impact the nitrogen (N) cycle by digesting forage that is consumed, and recycled back to the soil in a more available forms stimulating soil microbial N cycling activities. Yet we do not know how both grazers comparatively affect N cycling in tallgrass prairie. Thus, we investigated if bison cattle had similar impacts on N cycling in annually burned tallgrass prairie relative to ungrazed conditions over a 3-year period (2020-2022) at the Konza Prairie Biological Station. We took soil samples to investigate soil data: pH, soil water content, mineralized N, nitrification potential, denitrification potential and extracellular enzyme assays on upland soils of the Florence-Benfield complex soil map during the summer growing season from 2020 to 2022 on bison, cattle and ungrazed experimental watersheds at the Konza Prairie Biological Station. Soil sampling was undertaken once late in each summer growing season from 2020-2022. These years spanned a range of above-average rainfall (2020) to well below average (2021) and slightly below average (2022). We sampled along four 10-m transects, parallel to long-term plant sampling transects in each experimental watershed, in two bison grazed (N1A and N1B), two cattle grazed (C1A and C1B), and two ungrazed (1D and SpB) watersheds, all of which are burned annually.
WAT04 Root decomposition and nutrient dynamics are resistant to rainfall legacies in tallgrass prairie
Purpose: Litter decomposition is an important component of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling, and rates of mass loss and nutrient release are sensitive to current climate conditions. Growing evidence suggests that past climate conditions can exert legacies on soil C and N cycling, but little is known about how belowground decomposition dynamics relate to these climate legacies. Results: Root litter mass loss was resistant to most climate treatments. Contrary to expectations, decomposition rates were slowest in plots with a history of long-term irrigation and fastest under drought in lowland prairie. Similarly, mass loss rates were overall faster in the drier uplands. Changes in N concentration as a function of mass loss were similar across treatments and patterns of litter N release largely tracked mass loss. Conclusions: Changes in the decomposer community with long-term release from water stress may have led to slowed root decomposition, but these effects were subtle. Our results suggest that changes in decomposition rates are not a cause of observed climate legacy effects on C and N cycling in prairies.
SNE01 Species richness, community evenness (Evar) and ANPP effects of nitrogen addition across a gradient of 8 levels in a semi-arid shortgrass steppe and a mesic tallgrass prairie, 2014-2018
This dataset contains the first five years (2014-2018) of the effect of nitrogen addition on species richness, species evenness (Evar) and productivity for a long-term nitrogen addition gradient experiment in two North American grasslands: a semi-arid shortgrass steppe and a mesic tallgrass prairie. Fertilization with time-release urea has been on-going since 2014 in a gradient of eight levels: 0, 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 g/m-2. The effect of nitrogen on richness, evenness and Aboveground Net Primary Productivity (ANPP g/m-2 yr) is calculated as the absolute change in value from control plots to treatment plots within each block.
Selection on convergent functional traits drives compositional divergence in a tallgrass prairie restoration experiment
<p>1. Plant biodiversity is often partitioned into taxonomic diversity (species composition and abundance), phylogenetic diversity (breadth of evolutionary lineages) and functional diversity (resource‐use strategies or physical traits). Evaluating the effects and interplay of these dimensions can provide insights into how assembly processes drive compositional changes in plant communities. However, teasing apart the effects of different biodiversity dimensions is challenging in observational studies or retrospective analyses.</p> <p>2. To evaluate how plant phylogenetic and trait history shape community establishment and turnover in restoration of a species‐rich North American tallgrass prairie, we conducted an experiment with 127 species planted in assemblages representing three levels of phylogenetic diversity (PD) and two of functional trait diversity (FD), holding starting species richness (SR) fixed. We tested whether PD and FD of planted assemblages predicted species diversity, compositional turnover and selection on functional traits.</p> <p>3. Rank order of initial functional and phylogenetic diversity levels was maintained throughout the experiment, but neither diversity measure correlated positively with species richness by the end of the experiment. Phylogenetic and taxonomic beta diversity increased among all treatments. This increase in compositional beta diversity was associated with directional selection on phylogenetically dispersed functional traits. A set of functional traits associated with competitiveness in tallgrass prairies predicted species' cover for all survey years: stem dry matter content, leaf dry matter content, vegetative height and rhizomatous growth. Although all plots collectively converged on a similar suite of functional traits, functional beta diversity increased among high‐FD plots.</p> <p>4. <em>Synthesis</em>. Neither higher functional nor phylogenetic diversity maintained higher species richness (SR) over time in our study. Although SR was not maintained, higher levels of PD and FD were. Both types of diversity shaped the rate at which plots changed in composition over time, with high diversity treatment plots increasing in beta diversity. Selection for traits convergent across the tree of life drove phylogenetic and compositional divergence among plots. While optimization of site‐specific functional traits may be most important for maintaining higher SR, our work implies that planting higher initial PD and FD may make grassland restorations more adaptable to site conditions that may be difficult to predict.</p>
Community level phylogenetic diversity does not differ between rare and common lineages across tallgrass prairies in northern Great Plains
<p class="MsoNormal">In some cases, rare lineages provide resistance to invasions, serve as keystone species, and contribute unique functional or phylogenetic diversity to their communities. In other cases, rare species may be functionally redundant with common species and do not significantly contribute to phylogenetic diversity. How rare and common species coexist and contribute to local species pools may depend upon attributes of their communities and remains an open question in ecology. Niche differentiation has served as an explanation for species coexistence, and phylogenetic relatedness provides a means to approximate how ecologically similar species are to each other. To explore the contribution of rare species to community phylogenetic diversity, we sampled twenty-one plant communities across the Prairie Coteau ecoregion, home of the largest tracts of untilled northern tallgrass prairie and of high conservation concern. We used breakpoint analysis through iterative addition of less abundant species to the phylogenetic tree for each community. We also assessed the phylogenetic signal of abundance classes using Blomberg's K statistic and calculated the phylogenetic similarity between rare and common species using a phylogenetic beta diversity metric (D<sub>nn</sub>). To estimate the phylogenetic structuring of these prairie communities, we calculated two common metrics that capture evolutionary relatedness between species (MPD, and MNTD) and examine the correlation between these metrics and species richness. Overall, we found rare species do not contribute higher levels of phylogenetic diversity than more common species in the Prairie Coteau ecoregion. Eight of 21 communities had significant breakpoints, where the addition of a less common species resulted in a shift in phylogenetic diversity, with only four communities having an increasing trend for the rarest species. Phylogenetic signal for abundance was low and unsignificant across 18 communities, while four sites did show significant low phylogenetic signal. We additionally found our communities had lower phylogenetic diversity than expected from the regional species pool. Finally, we found weak to no correlation when using MPD and MNTD. Our results indicate niche differentiation does not explain rare species persistence in tallgrass prairies. We found species were more closely related than expected from random community assembly, suggesting high functional redundancy within this system. This is promising for the long term viability of this ecosystem, but only insofar as enough species remain in the system to create redundancy. With ongoing biodiversity loss, it is essential we understand the role rare species play in their communities. Phylogenetic diversity could be an important tool for researchers and managers to utilize for conservation of critically threatened systems such as tallgrass prairies.</p>
Data for: Higher floral richness promotes rarer bee communities across remnant and reconstructed tallgrass prairies, though remnants contain higher abundances of a threatened bumble bee (Bombus Latreille)
<p>Managing and restoring tallgrass prairie ecosystem is an important form of pollinator conservation in the Midwestern United States. Prairie reconstruction has been found to enhance native bee diversity and abundance, but it is less clear if prairie reconstruction conserves species thought to be at-risk. We reanalyze a previously published dataset on the bee communities of reconstructed and remnant prairie in the US state of Minnesota to investigate how the abundance of at-risk species respond to local factors, such as floral diversity and prairie type (reconstructed or remnant), and landscape factors, in the form of surrounding agricultural production. We defined at-risk species in two ways. For bumble bees, we used the IUCN red list of bumble bees for North America. As other species in the bee community have not been systematically evaluated, we used an independent data set to calculate a community-level measure of rarity as a proxy for at-risk species. We calculated community rarity metrics using a Species Weighted Mean (SWM) approach, with species-level rarity (relative abundance and site occurrence) derived from a regional dataset comprised of over 30,000 specimens from across the US state of Minnesota. We found that the declining bumble bee <em>Bombus</em> <em>fervidus</em> had higher abundances in remnant rather than reconstructed prairies. Floral richness was associated with rarer bee communities (lower SWM values) across remnant and reconstructed prairies. We show that planting and managing prairies for floral diversity promotes bee communities with rarer species, but that remnants better support some at-risk species such as <em>Bombus</em> <em>fervidus</em>. </p>
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