ARS | Publication request: DEFOLIATION IMPACTS ON ABOVE AND BELOW-GROUND PRODUCTION IN A RIPARIAN SEDGE COMMUNITY

Submitted to: Society for Range Management Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 1, 2007
Publication Date: January 26, 2008
Citation: Boyd, C.S., Svejcar, A.J. 2008. Defoliation impacts on above and below-ground production in a riparian sedge community. Society for Range Management Meeting Abstracts.Building Bridges:Grasslands to Rangelands. Watershed Management & Hydrology Poster#46

Technical Abstract: In spite of the interest in grazing impacts on riparian systems, there is limited information on root response of riparian sedges to grazing. We evaluated both above-ground and below-ground productivity in plots clipped in either June or July to a 10.2 cm stubble height. The study was designed as a randomized block with 4 replications and conducted during 2004 and 2005. Root ingrowth tubes were used to harvest annual root growth, and 50 x 20 cm plots were clipped to estimate above-ground end-of-season standing crop. Water tables were higher in 2005 for the June/July period. Clipping treatments reduced end-of-season above-ground standing crop (p < 0.05), but season-long production (clipped mass + end-of-season mass) was less impacted by clipping treatment. Root mass was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced by only the July 2005 clipping treatment, and root length density was not significantly impacted by any treatment (p > 0.05). In our study, root abundance was more resilient to clipping treatments than above-ground production.