02394nas a2200313 4500008004100000245009600041210006900137300001300206490000700219520149500226653001601721653001401737653001201751653001501763653001201778653002001790653001201810653002201822653001901844653002101863653002701884100001701911700002101928700001801949700001801967700001701985700001902002856005902021 2013 eng d00aBlazing and grazing: influences of fire and bison on tallgrass prairie stream water quality0 aBlazing and grazing influences of fire and bison on tallgrass pr a779 -7910 v323 a
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.
10aBison bison10aBos bison10aburning10aGrasslands10agrazers10aprescribed fire10astreams10atallgrass prairie10atotal nitrogen10atotal phosphorus10atotal suspended solids1 aLarson, D.M.1 aGrudzinski, B.P.1 aDodds, W., K.1 aDaniels, M.D.1 aSkibbe, A.M.1 aJoern, Anthony uhttps://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1899/12-118.1