TY - JOUR T1 - Management practices in tallgrass prairie: Large- and small-scale experimental effects on species composition JF - Journal of Applied Ecology Y1 - 1993 A1 - D.J. Gibson A1 - Seastedt, T.R. A1 - J. M. Briggs KW - tallgrass prairie AB - Many studies from grasslands have reported how differing management techniques affect production levels and species composition (e.g., Ehrenreich & Aikman 1963; Wells 1980; Parr & Way 1988). In most studies the main emphasis has been on a single treatment (e.g., mowing, grazing or burning) under either highly controlled small-scale, experimental conditions (Hover & Bragg 1981; Collins 1987; Cox 1988) or less rigorous large-scale descriptive field studies (e.g., Abrams & Hulbert 1987; Gibson & Hulbert 1987). There are inherent strengths and weaknesses to both these approaches. Experimental studies, usually carried out at only one site or in small plots, may reflect local conditions; conversely, large-scale field observations usually lack statistical rigour (Hurlbert 1984) and treatment effects may be obscured by large-scale landscape heterogeneity (e.g. Gibson 1988a). VL - 30 ER -