Small Mammal and Plant Community Responses to Mechanical Disturbance and Rest in Wyoming Big Sagebrush Grassland

Autor: Matt B. Borchgrevink, Terrill R. Weston, Bret W. Hess, Gerald E. Schuman, Richard A. Olson, Justin D. Derner
Rok vydání: 2010
Předmět:
Zdroj: Arid Land Research and Management. 24:57-67
ISSN: 1532-4990
1532-4982
Popis: Our aim in this study was to evaluate short-term (2 years) responses of several attributes of small mammal populations (species richness, abundance, diversity, and similarity) and plant community dynamics (species richness, canopy cover, above-ground biomass production, and diversity) to the mechanical disturbance associated with interseeding. Small mammal live trapping and vegetation sampling were conducted in 2004 and 2005 on replicated 1 ha study plots in a native Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt ssp. wyomingensis Beetle & Young)-grassland that were: 1) mechanically disturbed in April 2003 and rested from grazing during the study (mechanical); 2) rested from grazing (rested); and 3) moderately grazed by cattle (grazed). Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), northern grasshopper mouse (Onychomys leucogaster), and sagebrush vole (Lemmiscus curtatus) were the primary small mammal species captured during 7776 trap nights in 2004 and 2005. Small mammal diversity was greater for the mechanical ...
Databáze: OpenAIRE