Native lagomorphs suppress grass establishment in a shrub-encroached, semiarid grassland.

Shrub encroachment into arid grasslands has been associated with reduced grass abundance, increased soil erosion, and local declines in biodiversity. Livestock overgrazing and the associated reduction of fine fuels has been a primary driver of shrub encroachment in the southwestern United States, but shrublands continue to persist despite livestock removal and grassland restoration efforts. We hypothesized that an herbivory feedback from native mammals may contribute to continued suppression of grasses after the removal of livestock.

Changes in wind erosion over a 25-year restoration chronosequence on the south edge of the Tengger Desert, China: implications for preventing desertification.

Wind erosion is a primary cause of desertification as well as being a serious ecological problem in arid and semi-arid areas across the world. To determine mechanisms for restoring desertified lands, an unrestored shifting sand dune and three formerly shifting sand dunes (desertified lands) that had been enclosed and afforested for 5, 15, and 25 years were selected for evaluation on the south edge of the Tengger Desert, China. Based on sampling heights between 0.

Evaluating the effect of rainfall variability on vegetation establishment in a semidesert grassland.

Of the operations required for reclamation in arid and semi-arid regions, establishing vegetation entails the most uncertainty due to reliance on unpredictable rainfall for seed germination and seedling establishment. The frequency of successful vegetation establishment was estimated based on a land surface model driven by hourly atmospheric forcing data, 7 years of eddy-flux data, and 31 years of rainfall data at two adjacent sites in southern Arizona, USA. Two scenarios differing in the required imbibition time for successful germination were evaluated-2 or 3 days availability of sufficient surface moisture.

Small mammals as indicators of short-term and long-term disturbance in mixed prairie.

Disturbance by military maneuvers over short and long time scales may have differential effects on grassland communities. We assessed small mammals as indicators of disturbance by military maneuvers in a mixed prairie in southern Oklahoma USA. We examined sites on two soil series, Foard and Lawton, across a gradient of disturbance intensity.

Effects of short- and long-term disturbance resulting from military maneuvers on vegetation and soils in a mixed prairie area.

Loss of grassland species resulting from activities such as off-road vehicle use increases the need for models that predict effects of anthropogenic disturbance. The relationship of disturbance by military training to plant species richness and composition on two soils (Foard and Lawton) in a mixed prairie area was investigated. Track cover (cover of vehicle disturbance to the soil) and soil organic carbon were selected as measures of short- and long-term disturbance, respectively.