scholarly journals Where Have the Native Grasses Gone?: What a Long-Term, Repeat Study Can Tell Us about California’s Native Prairie Landscapes

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Laris ◽  
Chelsea Seymour ◽  
Mystyn Mills
Keyword(s):  
Native Grasses ◽  
Native Prairie

Cultivation effects on dispersible clay of soil aggregates

1995 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. G. Fuller ◽  
Tee Boon Goh ◽  
D. W. Oscarson
Keyword(s):  
Soil Aggregates ◽  
Aggregate Size ◽  
Exchange Capacity ◽  
Exchangeable Cations ◽  
Organic C ◽  
Size Fractions ◽  
Clay Dispersion ◽  
Native Prairie ◽  
Exchangeable Ca

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of long-term cultivation on clay dispersibility of four aggregate size fractions (2.0–9.5 mm, 0.85–2.0 mm, 0.25–0.85 mm, and < 0.25 mm) obtained from a Chernozemic soil by comparing two cultivated sites with an adjacent native prairie site. Aggregate size fractions (ASF) were subjected to increasing levels of ultrasonic energy and the amount of clay dispersed at each energy level was determined. Organic carbon, hexose carbon, soluble hexose C, total clay, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and exchangeable cations were measured for each ASF. Clay contained within prairie aggregates was held much more strongly within the aggregate and therefore showed greater stability towards dispersion by ultrasonic vibration. More energy was required to disperse one-half of the ASF clay under prairie than under cultivated soils (228–425, and 95–229 kJ L−1 for prairie and cultivated macroaggregates, respectively; 370–433, and 249–334 kJ L−1 for prairie and cultivated microaggregates, respectively). Clay dispersibility was significantly correlated with organic C, hexose C, soluble hexose C, non-hexose C, CEC, and exchangeable Ca and Mg but was not correlated with total ASF clay. Long-term cultivation of this soil resulted in a decrease in the energy required to disperse an equivalent proportion of clay from aggregates relative to that of the grassland soil. Thus, cultivation of these soils has resulted in aggregates which are more susceptible to clay dispersion and therefore prone to water erosion and surface crusting. Key words: Clay dispersion, aggregation, carbohydrate

MONOSACCHARIDES IN HYDROLYSATES OF WATER-STABLE AGGREGATES AFTER 67 YEARS OF CROPPING TO SPRING WHEAT AS DETERMINED BY CAPILLARY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY

1984 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 647-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. DORMAAR
Keyword(s):  
Gas Chromatography ◽  
Spring Wheat ◽  
Capillary Gas Chromatography ◽  
Detector Response ◽  
Organic C ◽  
Native Prairie ◽  
Water Stable Aggregates ◽  
Southern Alberta ◽  
Aggregate Fractions

Two non-replicated, unfertilized, dryland grain rotations—continuous wheat and wheat-fallow — were established in 1912 on a Dark Brown Chernozemic soil in southern Alberta. The effect of long-term cropping on the monosaccharide distribution in the hydrolysates of the water-stable aggregates was assessed. Although all the hydrolysates of the aggregates had the same suite of monosaccharides, the relative proportions changed with cultivation. The eight monosaccharides identified represented between 92 and 96% of the total GC detector response. The monosaccharide C of aggregate organic C for the native prairie varied from 6.9 to 7.6%, while for the continuous wheat and the wheat and fallow of the wheat-fallow rotation it varied from 3.6 to 5.5%, from 1.8 to 5.1%, and from 1.6 to 6.7%, respectively; the higher percentages were associated with the larger aggregate fractions. Except for galactose, the average relative proportions of the monosaccharides identified in the hydrolysates of the water-stable aggregates were not much different from those reported in the literature for the hydrolysates of whole soils. Key words: Monosaccharides, aggregate fractions, water-stable aggregates, capillary gas chromatography, long-term rotation

Improved forage production following western snowberry (Symphoricarpos occidentalis Hook.) control with metsulfuron methyl

1995 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 935-940 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. G. Bowes ◽  
D. T. Spurr
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Native Grasses ◽  
Physical Barrier ◽  
Forage Production ◽  
Metsulfuron Methyl ◽  
Grass Production ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Better Than

Two 6-yr studies were conducted in southeastern Saskatchewan to evaluate 2,4-D, Metsulfuron methyl (Metsulfuron) and a mixture of 2,4-D + Metsulfuron for the long-term control of western snowberry. Western snowberry is a small shrub that grows in dense stands in rangelands and pastures and acts as a physical barrier to grazing. At the study site, the shrub was growing with native grasses and forbs. Metsulfuron applied at 15 g a.i. ha−1 effectively controlled western snowberry for 6 yr. Control with Metsulfuron was better than with 2,4-D because Metsulfuron killed the crown of the shrub. Control was not improved when 2,4-D was added to Metsulfuron, and at low levels of Metsulfuron the presence of 2,4-D in the mixture rendered Metsulfuron less effective, resulting in a higher canopy cover. Grass production averaged over years and experiments was 788 kg ha−1 for the check and increased to 1328 kg ha−1 after Metsulfuron was applied at 15 g ha−1. Forb production was not affected by the treatments. Key words: Western snowberry, Symphoricarpos occidentalis, metsulfuron methyl, 2,4-D

Competition of five native prairie grasses with Bromus inermis under three moisture regimes

1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (12) ◽  
pp. 2140-2145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean Nernberg ◽  
Mark R. T. Dale
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Ability ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Bromus Inermis ◽  
Reciprocal Relationship ◽  
Shoot Biomass ◽  
Native Grasses ◽  
Native Prairie ◽  
Prairie Grasses ◽  
Moisture Regimes ◽  
Reduced Water

We examined the effect of moisture on the competitive ability of five native grasses (Agropyron and Stipa) in competition with the non-native grass Bromus inermis Leyss. The plants were grown in large pots in growth rooms, and the moisture treatment was imposed by the frequency of watering. The competitive ability of the five native grasses, as measured by shoot biomass ratio, increased with reduced water availability, but even under the driest conditions, they competed poorly with B. inermis. The order of competitive ability found in this experiment did not match the order predicted from field observations based on the hypothesis of a strict reciprocal relationship between stress tolerance and competitive ability. Stipa viridula Trin. was the best competitor of the five, and Stipa curtiseta (A.S. Hitchc.) Barkworth was consistently the least competitive. The order of competitive ability was more variable when measured by the effect on Bromus than when measured by the effect on the native grasses themselves. The results suggest that tolerance of abiotic stress is less important than competitive exclusion in determining species distributions on environmental gradients Key words: competitive hierarchy, competitive reversal, transitivity.

scholarly journals Origin of agricultural plant pathogens: Diversity and pathogenicity of Rhizoctonia fungi associated with native prairie grasses in the Sandhills of Nebraska

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0249335
Author(s):  
Srikanth Kodati ◽  
Anthony O. Adesemoye ◽  
Gary Y. Yuen ◽  
Jerry D. Volesky ◽  
Sydney E. Everhart
Keyword(s):  
Disease Severity ◽  
Fungal Pathogens ◽  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Native Grasses ◽  
Agricultural Plant ◽  
Native Prairie ◽  
Little Bluestem ◽  
Complex Ecosystem ◽  
Greenhouse Assay ◽  
Sand Bluestem

The Sandhills of Nebraska is a complex ecosystem, covering 50,000 km2 in central and western Nebraska and predominantly of virgin grassland. Grasslands are the most widespread vegetation in the U.S. and once dominated regions are currently cultivated croplands, so it stands to reason that some of the current plant pathogens of cultivated crops originated from grasslands, particularly soilborne plant pathogens. The anamorphic genus Rhizoctonia includes genetically diverse organisms that are known to be necrotrophic fungal pathogens, saprophytes, mycorrhiza of orchids, and biocontrol agents. This study aimed to evaluate the diversity of Rhizoctonia spp. on four native grasses in the Sandhills of Nebraska and determine pathogenicity to native grasses and soybean. In 2016 and 2017, a total of 84 samples were collected from 11 sites in the Sandhills, located in eight counties of Nebraska. The samples included soil and symptomatic roots from the four dominant native grasses: sand bluestem, little bluestem, prairie sandreed, and needle-and-thread. Obtained were 17 Rhizoctonia-like isolates identified, including five isolates of binucleate Rhizoctonia AG-F; two isolates each from binucleate Rhizoctonia AG-B, AG-C, and AG-K, Rhizoctonia solani AGs: AG-3, and AG-4; one isolate of binucleate Rhizoctonia AG-L, and one isolate of R. zeae. Disease severity was assessed for representative isolates of each AG in a greenhouse assay using sand bluestem, needle-and-thread, and soybean; prairie sandreed and little bluestem were unable to germinate under artificial conditions. On native grasses, all but two isolates were either mildly aggressive (causing 5–21% disease severity) or aggressive (21–35% disease severity). Among those, three isolates were cross-pathogenic on soybean, with R. solani AG-4 shown to be highly aggressive (86% disease severity). Thus, it is presumed that Rhizoctonia spp. are native to the sandhills grasslands and an emerging pathogen of crops cultivated may have survived in the soil and originate from grasslands.

scholarly journals Effect of Continuous Agriculture of Grassland Soils of the Argentine Rolling Pampa on Soil Organic Carbon and Nitrogen

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis A. Milesi Delaye ◽  
Alicia B. Irizar ◽  
Adrián E. Andriulo ◽  
Bruno Mary
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Simultaneous Estimation ◽  
Grassland Soils ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Soil Organic Nitrogen ◽  
Native Prairie ◽  
Active Pool ◽  
Prairie Soil

Long-term soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil organic nitrogen (SON) following cultivation of grassland soils (100/120-year tillage (T) + 20/30-year no tillage (NT)) of the Rolling Pampa were studied calibrating the simple AMG model coupled with the natural13C abundance measurements issued from long-term experiments and validating it on a data set obtained by a farmer survey and by long-term NT experiments. The multisite survey and NT trials permitted coverage of the history of the 140 years with agriculture. The decrease in SOC and SON storage that occurred during the first twenty years by a loss through biological activity was 27% for SOC and 32% for SON. The calibrated model described the SOC storage evolution very well and permitted an accurate simultaneous estimation of their three parameters. The validated model simulated well SOC and SON evolution. Overall, the results analyzed separately for the T and NT period indicated that the active pool has a rapid turnover (MRT ~9 and 13 years, resp.) which represents 50% of SOC in the native prairie soil and 20% of SOC at equilibrium after NT period. NT implementation on soils with the highest soil organic matter reserves will continue to decrease (17%) for three decades later under current annual addition.

scholarly journals Long-Term Efficacy of Glyphosate for Smooth Brome Control in Native Prairie

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 350-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica I. Slopek ◽  
Eric G. Lamb
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Control Method ◽  
Kentucky Bluegrass ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Smooth Brome ◽  
Native Prairie ◽  
And Function

Effective control measures are required for the invasive forage grass smooth brome in native prairie to maintain native prairie diversity and function. The objective of this study was to assess the long-term effectiveness of glyphosate as a control method for smooth brome and to evaluate the subsequent recovery of native prairie species at Kernen Prairie near Saskatoon, SK, Canada. In 1999 and 2000, a total of forty 6- to 8-m-diameter patches of smooth brome were spot sprayed with glyphosate; community composition in each patch was monitored for 17 yr. Following glyphosate application, the abundance of smooth brome decreased, and recovery of native species richness and the abundance of important native species, including plains rough fescue, was observed. In the long term however, the elimination of smooth brome created empty niche space ultimately occupied by other invasive species, particularly Kentucky bluegrass. The spot application of glyphosate is thus an effective control method for reducing smooth brome in native prairie; however, maintaining desirable native species composition in this system posttreatment depends on other factors, including the presence of additional invasive species that may move in after the elimination of smooth brome.

Impact and management of crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum) in the northern Great Plains

2007 ◽  
Vol 87 (5) ◽  
pp. 1023-1028 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. M. Vaness ◽  
S. D. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Great Plains ◽  
Population Projections ◽  
Agropyron Cristatum ◽  
Northern Great Plains ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Crested Wheatgrass ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Native Prairie ◽  
Native Grassland

Crested wheatgrass [Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn.] invades native prairie and reduces diversity in the northern Great Plains. Here we review the effects of crested wheatgrass on grassland communities and ecosystems, as well as potential strategies for controlling crested wheatgrass. Because of its tussock growth form and C3 photosynthetic pathway, crested wheatgrass is likely to alter native grassland both above- and belowground. Experiments and long-term population projections suggest that both grazing and herbicide applied regularly can greatly decrease its abundance even though established populations may not be eliminated. Key words: Agropyron cristatum; non-native plant species; native grassland; invasion; crested wheatgrass management

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