Date of Award

2021

Publisher

North Dakota State University

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Awarded

Master of Science (MS)

Program

Range Science

Department

Natural Resource Sciences

College

Agriculture, Food Systems and Natural Resources

Faculty Advisor

Limb, Ryan

Description

Pyric-herbivory is a naturally occurring disturbance that historically created shifting mosaics of heterogeneous plant communities and vegetation structure, supporting a biodiverse Great Plains ecosystem. Present land management has decoupled this interactive disturbance leading to homogenous grasslands, resulting in a reduction of biodiversity, which is exasperated by the dominance of non-native grasses. We believe reintroducing this disturbance will increase heterogeneity and enhance biodiversity. First, we compared the effects of a season-long grazing and two patch-burn grazing systems on plant communities. Second, we evaluated how small mammal communities were affected by each grazing system. Our findings show re-establishing pyric-herbivory, via patch-burn grazing, can enhance biodiversity compared to season-long grazing. We hypothesize further implementation of patch-burn grazing will continue to enhance biodiversity, as thatch and basal litter are further reduced. In conclusion, our findings support re-establishing pyric-herbivory to enhance biodiversity though further study is needed to determine what effect continued implementation will have.

Rights

NDSU policy 190.6.2

Rights Link

https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf

Handle Identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/10365/32670

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