Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis Beetle & Young) communities frequently are mowed in an attempt to increase perennial herbaceous vegetation. However, there is limited information as to whether expected benefits of mowing are realized when applied to Wyoming big sagebrush communities with intact understory vegetation. We compared vegetation and soil nutrient concentr...

Abundant evidence has shown that grazing alters plant functional traits, community structure and ecosystem functioning of grasslands. Few studies, however, have tested how plant responses to grazing are mediated by resource availability and plant functional group identity. We examined the effects of grazing on functional traits across a broad range of species along a soil moisture gradient in I...

the study of the exclosure effects on the vegetation changes undergrazing and non-grazing conditions in the rangeland areas has particularimportance in the rangeland improvement and revivification projects. theresearch was accomplished in semi-steppe khoybilehvar area, from 1999 to2005. vegetation cover was annually measured within fixed plots during transact.the results showed that during nine...

the purpose of this study was to investigate vegetation dynamics and range conditions considering the climatic conditions and soil properties in doolat gharin in the south of isfahan province of an area equal to 25 square kilometer. for this purpose, after determining vegetation types and associated species, the type of rangeland utilization, grazing season, the type of livestock and other rele...

Although post-dispersal seed predators are common and often reduce seed density, their influence on plant population abundance remains unclear. On the one hand, increasing evidence suggests that many plant populations are seed limited, implying that seed predators could reduce plant abundance. On the other hand,.it is generally uncertain whether the magnitude of seed limitation imposed by grani...

Compost amendment to grassland is a novel strategy proposed and demonstrated to increase ecosystem carbon (C) storage. However, the effects of compost applications on biomass production and plant diversity are not well known. We assessed impacts of a onetime compost amendment over 4 yr on plant dynamics in two grazed grassland ecosystems in California: a coastal prairie and valley grassland. Th...

Orange hawkweed is a perennial European plant that has colonized roadsides and grasslands in south-central and southeast Alaska. This plant is forming near-monotypic stands, reducing plant diversity, and decreasing pasture productivity. A replicated greenhouse study was conducted in 2006 and repeated in 2007 to determine the efficacy of six herbicides (aminopyralid, clopyralid, picloram, piclor...

Managing grasslands for forage and ground-nesting bird habitat requires appropriate defoliation strategies. Subsequent early-summer species composition in mixed stands of native warm-season grasses (Indiangrass (IG, Sorghastrum nutans), big bluestem (BB, Andropogon gerardii) and little bluestem (LB, Schizachyrium scoparium)) responding to harvest intervals (treatments, 30, 40, 60, 90 or 120 d) ...

abstract. the purpose of this study was to investigate vegetation dynamics and range conditions considering the climatic conditions and soil properties in haftooman, khoor and biabanak deserts, iran. for this purpose, after determining vegetation types and the associated species, the type of rangeland utilization, grazing season, the livestock type, the other relevant information, vegetation da...

Relatively little is known about how the life histories of perennial forb species, and especially their lifetime patterns of growth, vary across environmental gradients. We used a post hoc approach (herb-chronology) to determine plant age and previous growth (width of successive annual rings in roots) in three species of perennial forb (two long-lived species [Penstemon venustus, Lupinus laxifl...