“conservation grazing” at grasslands national park ......saskatchewan on daily nesting success...
TRANSCRIPT
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“Conservation Grazing” at Grasslands National Park,
Saskatchewan, Canada
Scott Mitchell & Nicola Koper
www.grazingbiodiversity.org
Geomatics and Landscape Ecology Research Laboratory
www.glel.carleton.ca
National Resource Institute
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Background (speaker)• “Does Pattern Matter?” (1996-2003)
• primary productivity patterns in GNP
• modelling and field work - BGC
• joined GLEL - landscape heterogeneity
• 2006 introduced to BAGEX, 2008 first field work grazed/ungrazed
• also: ag. hetero-diversity in Eastern Ontario
= ?= =2Thursday, October 9, 2008
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Canada - Ecozones & Parks
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Grasslands National Park
• PC: ecological integrity goals:
• species-at-risk
• disturbance
• alien species
• adaptive management
• monitoring
• grazing essential for regional diversity and integrity
• proposed prescribed grazing with mix of intensities
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Grazing, Experimental Area
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Bison Reintroduction
• Plains Bison (Bison bison bison) reintroduced December 2005
• herd of 71: 30 male calves, 30 female calves, 11 yearlings
• 181 sq km (70 sq mi) area, 5 wire fence @ 54”
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Bison management• case-by-case escape
management plan, with compensation
• herd size management
• surplus, “bones on the prairie” removals
• disease testing
• monitor heterozygosity
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Fire management
• Management plan (2002)
• wildfires suppressed
• small prescribed burns
• learning: effects and control
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0704/feature5/gallery2.html
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Detailed fire plan (2007)
• fire as ecological process: integrity
• fire use “will help to achieve ecosystem management objectives through:”
• shift of veg composition to natives
• increasing spatial and temporal heterogeneity (1 to 10000m scales)
• strategic fuel modification (proactive)
• prescribed burns start 1-2/y 10-75ha, attract intensive grazing and thus reduce CWG seed
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Grazing management
• reintroduction of large mammal grazing:
• goals include restoration of heterogeneity
• choices: species, intensity
• cattle part of the plan because:
• primary commercial use of grasslands
• financial incentive to protect prairies
• alternative to historical disturbances
• benefits: reduce litter & likelihood of catastrophic fires, increase desirable habitat
• what are the risks? best stocking plans?
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Effects of grazing intensity on prairie
• Vary with:
• Spatial scale
• Pasture size
• Environmental variability
• Time
• Studies should therefore incorporate:
• Multiple spatial scales
• Pasture sizes relevant to management
• Long period of time
(EID)
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BAGEX: Biodiversity and Grazing Experiment Exploring effects of stocking rates on biodiversity
• Large spatial scale (13 pastures ~ 300 ha)
• ~ 900 ha of ungrazed control
• ~1200 ha of long-term grazed control
• Previously ungrazed for > 15 years
• Beyond BACI design
• Before-treatment sampling of all sites (2006-2007), multiple treatment levels, spatial controls
• Cattle introduced in 2008
• ~ Equal amount and distribution of aquatic, riparian, lowland, slope & upland habitats
• Sampling songbirds, vegetation, invertebrates, soil
• Long term (10 years) (2008-2017)
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Experimental Area
• ungrazed since 1987
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Experimental Area
• upland grasslands, valley grasslands, riparian areas
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MankotaCommunity
Pasture (MCP)
MCP
PrivateLand
GNPAcquired
2001
Grasslands National Park
(GNP)Acquired 2001
MCP MCP
MONTANA
Private Land
ResearcherAccom.
RanchHouse
PrivateLand
MCP
GNPAcquired
1985
GNPAcquired
1985
GNPAcquired
1995
GNPAcquired
1985
GNP Acquired1985
MONTANA
PrivateLand
RanchHouse
Fenceline Road/Trail Creek Experimental Unit Grazed Control (Potential)
- n = 12- Park lands- Ranch lands
Logistical Possibilities
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Objectives
• Objective #1: Restore grazing-induced heterogeneity in mixed-grass prairie
• Objective #2: Separate multiple scales of grazing effects on mixed-grass prairie from background spatial and temporal variation (experiment)
• Objective #3: Determine grazing-induced change in multiple structural, functional and compositional indicators (monitoring)
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Grasslands NPMankota CP
(Parks Canada [Henderson] 2006)
Valley plots
Upland plots
Unit2=20%
Unit3=57%
Unit4=70%
Unit8=70%
Unit7=45%
Unit7=33%
*
*
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Grasslands NPMankota CP
Unit2=20%
Unit3=57%
Unit4=70%
Unit8=70%
Unit7=45%
Unit7=33%
*
*
19Thursday, October 9, 2008
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Grasslands NPMankota CP
Unit2=20%
Unit3=57%
Unit4=70%
Unit8=70%
Unit7=45%
Unit7=33%
*
*
20Thursday, October 9, 2008
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Grasslands NPMankota CP
Unit2=20%
Unit3=57%
Unit4=70%
Unit8=70%
Unit7=45%
Unit7=33%
*
*
21Thursday, October 9, 2008
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(Parks Canada [Henderson] 2006)
L. Leston
Abundance, diversity, andcommunity composition of:
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Monitoring Component- Delivers results immediately (2006 and beyond)
Outside Park Inside Park
Grazed Ungrazed
Grazed vs. Ungrazed
Grazed Ungrazed
- 2 sample test (n = 3)- Univariate/Multivariate- Spatial variation- Temporal variation
Analytical Possibilities
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24
BACI Component- Delivers results every year following impact (2008 and beyond)
Outside Park Inside Park
2006 2007 2008 2009 year
Het
erog
enei
ty
Analytical Possibilities
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Grazing Intensity Component
Outside Park Inside Park
- Delivers results only after impact has effect (2008 and beyond)
Analytical Possibilities
Het
ero
2008
0 20 40 60 80 Forage Utilization
Het
ero
2012
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Selected results:Pre-treatment sampling
2006 & 2007Compared grazed and ungrazed
pastures
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Results: Effects of cattle grazing on plant community heterogeneity across multiple
scales (T. Teetaert)
• Higher richness in grazed lowlands than ungrazed or upland habitats (meangll = 49, P = 0.00013)
• Negative effect of grazing on northern wheatgrass cover (decreaser) (meanug = 0.34, P = 0.023)
• No effect of grazing on blue grama grass (increaser) (P > 0.05)
T. Teetaert 2007
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Results: Effects of grazing on Sprague’s pipit nesting success (J. Lusk)
• Threatened; populations have declined by 85% since 1968• First study to evaluate effects of grazing on nesting success• Pipit densities were 14% higher in grazed than ungrazed• No effect of grazing on pipit nesting success• Negative effect of nest litter depth and vegetation density on
nesting success Log odds ratios indicating effects of vegetation structure in southern
Saskatchewan on daily nesting success of Sprague's pipits
Estimate LCL UCL P
Sprague's pipit nesting successNest litter depth 0.958 0.927 0.991 0.041Vegetation density 0.506 0.268 0.956 0.079
S. Davis
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Results: Effects of grazing on invertebrates & prey of grassland birds (A. Selinger)
• Abundance of Carabid beetles ~ 3x higher in grazed than ungrazed
• Abundance of grasshoppers ~ 40% higher in ungrazed than grazed
• Birds did not have higher densities where beetle or grasshopperdensities or diversities were higher
L. Leston
29Thursday, October 9, 2008
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Results: Effects of burning and grazing on avian diversity (K. White)
• Species richness and diversity were greatest in burned prairie
• Significant interaction: burning increased species richness to a greater extent in ungrazed prairie
• Species richness was negatively correlated with vegetation height, density, and litter
Ric
hnes
sGrazed Ungrazed
burned
unburned
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Conclusions• (so far) effects of grazing:
• + impact on number of ecological parameters
• negatively affects some individual species
• intermediate intensity producing patchy structure may provide habitat for widest range of species
• study will help determine the most appropriate grazing intensity and stocking rate for optimizing ecological benefits while minimizing risks
• adaptive approach; research, management interplay
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Acknowledgements• J. Wilmshurst (PC), D. Henderson (EC)
• Parks Canada (esp. S. Larson, P. Fargey)
• NSERC
• Endangered Species Recovery Fund (World Wildlife Fund / Environment Canada)
• U of M, CU grad students and field assistants (D. Ash, T. Teetaert, J. Lusk, A. Sellinger, B. Bleho, L. Leston, P. Hettinga, L. Murray, D. Wiens, H. Wheeler, K. White, R. Virk, B. Deschamps)
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