soil quality in prairie dog towns presented by gary halvorson sitting bull college
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John Hendrickson and Mark Liebig Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS. Soil Quality in Prairie Dog Towns Presented by Gary Halvorson Sitting Bull College. Prairie Dog Basics. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
SOIL QUALITY IN PRAIRIE DOG TOWNSPRESENTED BY GARY HALVORSON SITTING BULL COLLEGE
John Hendrickson and Mark Liebig
Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS
Prairie Dog Basics
There are 5 species of prairie dog although only the black-tailed prairie dog is of importance in the Great Plains
Prairie dogs live in colonies which can be quite large (46,000 acre colony in Mexico)
Social animals that live in groups of 1 adult male and 3-4 adult females and their young (up to 1 year of age).
Prairie Dog Basics
Burrows can be deep (> 10 feet in the right soil) extensive (24 feet of tunnel per entrance) and may be located on slightly sloping land.
Burrow entrances are often highly disturbed and may be used as observation points.
Prairie Dog Basics
Prairie Dogs impact vegetation
Controversial Aspects of Prairie Dogs Original extent
Estimates of 40 to 100 million ha
Role as Keystone SpeciesBased on impact on vertebrate populations
Impact on livestock productionForage reduction estimates range from 4-75%Derner indicated differences in livestock
performance depending on extent in pasture.
Where Are We? Better
understanding of above-ground than below ground processes.
Need to understand how we can have wildlife (ie prairie dogs) and livestock coexist.
Project
Prairie dogs are ‘ecosystem engineers’Vegetation removalBurrowing activities
Very little is known about prairie dog effects on soil quality.
Guiding Questions
Do prairie dogs alter soil quality? If so…At what depth do alterations occur?At what distance from the hole do alterations
extend?Are depth and distance effects consistent
across different soils? AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY…
What are the implications of these alterations to ecosystem function?
Field Site and Sampling Plan Site: McLaughlin Ranch (6 miles SE of
McLaughlin, SD) Soil types: Opal, Cabba, and Wayden Treatments: Paired on-town, off-town for
each soil type Sampling plan: Intersecting transects
over each hole30, 60, and 120 cm from hole center0-100 cm soil depth (0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-
60, 60-100 cm increments).
= sampling location
Opal
Wayden
Cabba
Laboratory Analyses
Physical properties:Soil bulk density
Residue-associated properties:Identifiable plant material
Chemical Properties:Soil pH, electrical conductivityExtractable N and PExchangeable K, Na, Ca, and MgCation exchange capacityTotal C and N, and inorganic C
(analyses in progress)
Preliminary Results
Alterations concentrated in 0-30 cm depth Trends in soil properties strongly
dependent on distance from hole centerProperties that tend to increase closer to
hole…○ Extractable N and P; Exchangeable K
Properties that tend to decrease closer to hole…○ Soil bulk density; Soil pH
Vegetation Aspects Clipped near the
holes that Mark had identified.
1/8 m frame 2 frames per hole Clipped by species
1/8 m frame
#A
#B1 m
1 m
Prairie Dog Impact on Productivity Relatively little
change in productivity between prairie dog grazed sites.
Look at difference between prairie dog grazed and non-grazed.
Soils
Cabba Opal WaydenLb
s pe
r A
cre
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500Prairie Dog Grazed Non-Grazed
Forage production from on and off prairie dog colonies for 3 soils near McLaughlin SD
Plant Species Number In general, species
numbers were higher on control than the prairie dog colonies except for the Cabba sites.
Still need to look at how these species are distributed
Species Number
Soil
Cabba Opal Wayden
Num
ber
of S
peci
es
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16Control Prairie Dog
a
b
a
b
a
b
Next Steps
Sitting Bull College, NDSU, SDSU and NGPRL-USDA-ARS developed a successful AFRI grant.
This grant is looking at developing a ‘Natural’ meat project on Standing Rock.
A portion of this will be looking at prairie dogs.
State and Transition Models—Prairie Dog sites.
Resilience of vegetation on prairie dog colonies.
Can livestock and prairie dogs coexist?Soils differenceForage enhancementAmount of prairie dogs
