TY - JOUR
T1 - Altered herbivore distribution associated with focal disturbance
AU - Limb, Ryan F.
AU - Engle, David M.
AU - Fuhlendorf, Samuel D.
AU - Althoff, Donald P.
AU - Gipson, Philip S.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, and the US Army Construction Engineering Laboratory grant number W9132T-07-P-0095. Thanks go to Alan Anderson, Heidi Howard, and Galen Wiens for collaboration efforts.
PY - 2010/3
Y1 - 2010/3
N2 - Natural disturbances historically created structurally diverse patterns across the landscape, and large herbivores concentrated herbivory in areas where disturbance decreased standing senesced biomass that acted as a grazing deterrent through decreased palatability and overall forage quality. However, following European settlement, many natural large-scale disturbance regimes that influence vegetation and herbivore grazing selection were altered or removed and replaced with fine-scale anthropogenic disturbances. It is unclear how fine-scale focal disturbance and alteration of vegetation structure influences livestock distribution and grazing. Therefore we used a tracked vehicle as a disturbance agent in a mesic mixed-grass prairie to assess the influence of focal anthropogenic disturbance on livestock distribution and grazing. Track vehicle disturbance decreased the height of vegetation (P<0.05) but did not alter plant species composition (P>0.05). Cattle fecal pat density was greater (P≤0.05) in locations with track vehicle disturbance. Little bluestem tiller height was shorter (P≤0.05) in tracked locations than nontracked locations in grazed treatments, but was not different in nongrazed locations the first growing season following disturbance. Fecal pat density and tiller height were not different (P>0.05) between tracked and nontracked locations following the second growing season. Therefore, we concluded that fine-scale focal anthropogenic disturbance alters herbivore distribution and defoliation and can maintain structural heterogeneity, but the effect is ephemeral and does not create long-lasting grazing lawns.
AB - Natural disturbances historically created structurally diverse patterns across the landscape, and large herbivores concentrated herbivory in areas where disturbance decreased standing senesced biomass that acted as a grazing deterrent through decreased palatability and overall forage quality. However, following European settlement, many natural large-scale disturbance regimes that influence vegetation and herbivore grazing selection were altered or removed and replaced with fine-scale anthropogenic disturbances. It is unclear how fine-scale focal disturbance and alteration of vegetation structure influences livestock distribution and grazing. Therefore we used a tracked vehicle as a disturbance agent in a mesic mixed-grass prairie to assess the influence of focal anthropogenic disturbance on livestock distribution and grazing. Track vehicle disturbance decreased the height of vegetation (P<0.05) but did not alter plant species composition (P>0.05). Cattle fecal pat density was greater (P≤0.05) in locations with track vehicle disturbance. Little bluestem tiller height was shorter (P≤0.05) in tracked locations than nontracked locations in grazed treatments, but was not different in nongrazed locations the first growing season following disturbance. Fecal pat density and tiller height were not different (P>0.05) between tracked and nontracked locations following the second growing season. Therefore, we concluded that fine-scale focal anthropogenic disturbance alters herbivore distribution and defoliation and can maintain structural heterogeneity, but the effect is ephemeral and does not create long-lasting grazing lawns.
KW - anthropogenic disturbance
KW - heterogeneity
KW - tracked vehicles
KW - vegetation structure
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77954544928&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2111/REM-D-09-00006.1
DO - 10.2111/REM-D-09-00006.1
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77954544928
SN - 1550-7424
VL - 63
SP - 253
EP - 257
JO - Rangeland Ecology and Management
JF - Rangeland Ecology and Management
IS - 2
ER -