@article {KNZ001537, title = {Blazing and grazing: influences of fire and bison on tallgrass prairie stream water quality}, journal = {Freshwater Science}, volume = {32}, year = {2013}, pages = {779 -791}, abstract = {

Fire and grazers (such as Bison bison) were historically among the most important agents for maintaining and managing tallgrass prairie, but we know little about their influences on water-quality dynamics in streams. We analyzed 2 y of data on total suspended solids (TSS), total N (TN), and total P (TP) (3 samples per week per stream during flow) in 3 prairie streams with fire and bison grazing treatments at Konza Prairie Biological Station, Kansas (USA), to assess whether fire and bison increase the concentrations of these water-quality variables. We quantified the spatial and temporal locations of bison (\∼0.21 animal units/ha) with Global Positioning System collars and documented bison trails, paw patches, wallows, and naturally exposed sediment patches within riparian buffers. Three weeks post-fire, TN and TP decreased (t-test, p \< 0.001), but TSS did not change. Bison spent \<6\% of their time within 10 m of the streams, increased the amount of exposed sediment in the riparian areas, and avoided wooded mainstem branches of stream (χ2 test, p \< 0.001). Temporal trends suggest that low discharge or increased bison density in the stream may increase TSS and TP during the summer months. Our results indicate a weak connection between TSS and nutrients with bison access to streams over our 2-y study and indicate that low TSS and nutrients characterize tallgrass prairie streams with fire and moderate bison densities relative to surrounding land uses.

}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ, Bison bison, Bos bison, burning, Grasslands, grazers, prescribed fire, streams, tallgrass prairie, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total suspended solids}, doi = {10.1899/12-118.1}, url = {https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1899/12-118.1}, author = {Larson, D.M. and Grudzinski, B.P. and W. K. Dodds and Daniels, M.D. and Skibbe, A.M. and Anthony Joern} } @article {KNZ001345, title = {High leaf tissue density grassland species consistently more abundant across topographic and disturbance contrasts in a North American tallgrass prairie}, journal = {Plant and Soil}, volume = {337}, year = {2010}, pages = {193 -203}, abstract = {

Understanding the coupling between plant functional traits and abundance provides insight into the often hidden forces that structure plant communities. To better understand the coupling between leaf traits and abundance of grassland species in a mesic North American grassland, we measured specific leaf area (SLA) and its two components, tissue density and thickness for 125 grassland species. Plants with high tissue density were more abundant over a 17-year period across a range of environments: uplands, grazed and ungrazed watersheds, and frequently and infrequently burned watersheds. The consistent relationships between leaf tissue density and abundance across ecological contrasts imply that belowground resource availability constrains community composition independent of grazing and burning regimes. Leaf tissue density did not explain species abundance in lowlands, where belowground resources are the highest. Neither did it explain the differential abundance of species between grazing or fire frequency contrasts, suggesting that changes in burning or grazing select for species based on other traits. Relative to leaf tissue density, SLA was a poor predictor of abundance, reinforcing a long-observed\—but often ignored\—call that measurements of SLA need to be coupled with thickness measurements in order to effectively predict the performance of species. More generally, future research needs to investigate which belowground resources control community composition in the grassland and whether the importance of water or nutrients change with burning and grazing.

}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ, burning, Functional traits, Grasslands, Grazing, Konza Prairie, topography}, doi = {10.1007/s11104-010-0515-y}, url = {https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007\%2Fs11104-010-0515-y}, author = {Craine, J.M. and Towne, E.G.} } @article {KNZ001232, title = {Impacts of management legacies on litter decomposition in response to reduced precipitation in a tallgrass prairie}, journal = {Applied Soil Ecology}, volume = {42}, year = {2009}, pages = {79 -85}, abstract = {

The response of ecosystem processes to current and future climatic events may be affected by historical disturbance regimes. Here, we address the interaction between reduced precipitation and the legacy effects of two contrasting long-term burn regimes in a tallgrass prairie (20 years of annual burning versus fire suppression). We examined rates of decomposition and the response of decomposition to reduced precipitation under rainout shelters in these two prairie types to assess potential interactions between legacy effects and reduced precipitation. To test the legacy effects of the different burn regimes, we placed experimental plots in each prairie type under a standardized management regime. In each plot, we ceased burning, mowed to maintain a standard canopy height, and maintained standard surface litter accumulation. We measured decay rates for surface litter, buried roots, and buried wooden dowels. While decomposition rates of substrates were reduced an average of approximately 29\% under reduced precipitation, we found no significant main effects of burn history on decomposition on any of the substrates. However, in the recovery period following 2 years of an experimentally imposed drought, we did find an effect of burn history on decomposition and this effect varied for different substrates. Historical effects of management or natural disturbances on ecosystem processes may often be subtle or negated by compensatory responses, and in this study few legacy effects on decomposition rate were detected.

}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ, burning, decomposition, Drought, Legacy effects, Management regime, tallgrass prairie}, doi = {10.1016/j.apsoil.2009.01.009}, url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929139309000274?via\%3Dihub}, author = {Reed, H.E. and John M. Blair and Wall, D. and Seastedt, T.R.} } @article {KNZ00457, title = {Expansion of gallery forest on Konza Prairie Research Natural Area, Kansas}, journal = {Landscape Ecology}, volume = {9}, year = {1994}, pages = {117 -125}, abstract = {To determine the dynamics of the spatial extent of gallery forest on Konza Prairie Research Natural Area (KPRNA), aerial photographs taken over a 46 year time frame were digitized into an ARC-INFO Geographic Information System (GIS). A Global Positioning System (GPS) was used to collect ground control points to co-register the photographs for each year. Gallery forest areas for the three major drainage boundaries (Kings Creek, Shane Creek, and White Pasture) were analyzed to assess the uniformity of change in the landscape system. Results indicated that the total gallery forest area on KPRNA has increased in area from 157 ha in 1939 to over 241 ha in 1985. During this time, there was an increase in the total number of patches and a decrease in the mean size of forest patches. However, the rate of increase was not consistent over this time period, nor was it uniform from one drainage basin or stream order to another. Detailed spatial analysis of the forested area with a geomorphology and digital elevation model of Konza Prairie showed that in 1985, 58\% of the forest was on alluvial/colluvial soil, yet only 15\% of that soil type was forested. In addition, over 70\% of the forest was on the 0{\textendash}15\% slope interval, but only 15{\textendash}20\% of that slope interval was forested. These results may be attributed to a variety of factors such as changing management practices (i.e., frequency of fires and herbicide spraying) and the temporal constraints on extent to which the gallery forest can expand across the landscape.}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ, burning, gallery forest, GIS, historical landuse, tallgrass prairie}, doi = {10.1007/BF00124378}, url = {http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00124378}, author = {Knight, C.L. and J. M. Briggs and Nellis, M.D.} } @phdthesis {KNZ00244, title = {A comparison of soil hydraulic properties on Konza Prairie burning treatments}, volume = {PhD Dissertation}, year = {1989}, pages = {1 -87}, school = {Kansas State University}, type = {Ph.D. Thesis}, address = {Manhattan, KS}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ, burning}, author = {Klittich, W.M.} } @proceedings {KNZ00250, title = {Effects of manipulation on foliage characteristics of Andropgon gerardii Vitman}, year = {1989}, pages = {143 -146}, publisher = {University of Nebraska Press}, address = {Lincoln, NE}, abstract = {

The effects of burning, mowing, and nitrogen fertilizer on the chlorophyll, nitrogen, and phosphorus content of big bluestem were measured using a factorial experimental design at Konza Prairie Research Natural Area. While spring burning usually increased foliage production, burning had no effect on mid-season chlorophyll or nitrogen concentrations. Chlorophyll concentrations were significantly increased by fertilizer and mowing treatments. Nitrogen concentrations of foliage were higher on fertilized and mowed plots. Mowing also increased phosphorous concentrations of foliage, but nitrogen fertilizer significantly reduced phosphorus concentrations. These results support other research indicating that 1) nitrogen use efficiency (grams biomass produced per gram of foliage nitrogen) is higher on burned prairie, 2) removal of foliage by mowing results in more nutrient-rich regrowth, and 3) the amount of phosphorus available to big bluestem foliage is limited. The dilution of phosphorus caused by added nitrogen was a consequence of increased productivity on these plots and suggessts phosphorus uptake in excess of requirements for maximum growth. The relationships between burning, mowing, and nitrogen on the spectral reflectance patterns of vegetation indicated that chlorophyll (or nitrogen) concentrations of foliage appeared to more strongly affect indices of greenness and plant vigor than did the amount of plant biomass. Key words: biomass, burning, mowing, big bluestem, Andropogon gerardii, chlorophyll, nitrogen, phosphorus, Kansas

}, keywords = {LTER-KNZ, burning}, author = {Ramundo, R.A. and Shapley, T.D. and Turner, C.L. and Dyer, M.I. and Seastedt, T.R.}, editor = {Bragg, T.B. and Stubbendieck, J.} }