Abstract. Rangeland vegetation dynamics encompass all processes of changes in vegetation composition and structure over time. Investigating the rangeland ecosystem dynamics makes it possible to determine the effects of climatic and management conditions on qualitative and quantitative changes of the vegetation in a specific period of time. Accordingly, data collection and measurements for evalu...

The importance of species richness for repelling exotic plant invasions varies from ecosystem to ecosystem. Thus, in order to prioritize conservation objectives, it is critical to identify those ecosystems where decreasing richness will most greatly magnify invasion risks. Our goal was to determine if invasion risks greatly increase in response to common reductions in grassland species richness...

Functional traits are often used as species-specific mean trait values in comparative plant ecology or trait-based predictions of ecosystem processes, assuming that interspecific differences are greater than intraspecific trait variation and that trait-based ranking of species is consistent across environments. Although this assumption is increasingly challenged, there is a lack of knowledge re...

Principal methods being used to alleviate browsing damage to Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) seedlings by black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) in the Pacific Northwest are animal repellents applied to foilage and plastic mesh cylinders around individual seedlings. As an alternate method, we demonstrated that prompt establishment of highly palatable native forbs reduced summer...

The relationship between intensity and timing of cattle grazing on changes in the size and composition of the soil seed bank were investigated in a 3-yr study in a Mediterranean grassland in northeastern Israel. Treatments included manipulations of stocking rates and of grazing regimes, in a factorial design. The retrieved soil seed bank community was rich in species, with 133 species accountin...

We examined changes in plant species composition at * avilie Fraine in southeastern Wisconsin, based on surveys in permanently-marked, 2 X 2 m quadrats in 19461948, 1976-1978 and 2005. Permanent quadrats were distributed across a wide soil moisture gradient. During settlement he site was never cultivated but was mowed for hay for several decades prior to 1946, and burned most years during the d...

Conservation easements are an increasingly popular strategy for conserving biological diversity on private land. Long-term vegetation monitoring on conservation easements can provide critical information on persistence of biological diversity and abundance of invasive species. We sampled understory plant composition on five of The Nature Conservancy’s conservation easements in the Mt. Lassen fo...

Semi-natural calcareous grasslands are of great interest in conservation because of their high species richness, but presently they are threatened by both land abandonment and nitrogen eutrophication. The paper reports on a three-year field experiment conducted in a species-rich Mediterranean grassland to study the effects of nitrogen application coupled with removal of plant litter and artific...

Abstract Increasing atmospheric CO 2 enhances plant biomass production and may thereby change nutrient concentrations in tissues. The objective of this study was to identify the effect elevated on grassland that have been grown for 16 years (1998–2013). at extensively managed Giessen FACE experiment, fumigated with ambient (aCO ; eCO +20%) harvested twice annually. Concentrations C, N, P, K, Ca...

To achieve enduring low-maintenance green roofs that provide maximum benefit in the subtropics, plants need to be well adapted local climate with extensive coverage. The use of native contributes ecological restoration, yet there is very limited information available on their performance subtropics. This study aimed determine nine species Australian forbs, succulents, and grasses monofunctional...