Thinking like a grassland: Challenges and opportunities for biodiversity conservation in the Great Plains of North America

Authors: Augustine, David; DAVIDSON, ANA - Colorado State University; DICKINSON, KRISTIN - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, USDA); VAN PELT, BILL - Western Association Of Fish And Wildlife Agencies

Submitted to: Rangeland Ecology and Management
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/9/2019
Publication Date: 9/28/2021
Publication URL: https://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/6739373
Citation: Augustine, D.J., Davidson, A., Dickinson, K., Van Pelt, B. 2021. Thinking like a grassland: Challenges and opportunities for biodiversity conservation in the Great Plains of North America. Rangeland Ecology and Management. 78:281-295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2019.09.001.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2019.09.001

Interpretive Summary: Many of the wildlife species in the Great Plains of North America rely on large-scale movements or widely distributed populations in order to survive the extremely variable weather in this region. Since European settlement of this region, humans have imposed a complex pattern of land ownership and land use boundaries onto Great Plains grasslands, which challenges the conservation of wildlife species. Current approaches to public and private rangeland management, frequently focused at the scale of individual pastures or ranches, limit the degree to which these grasslands are grazed by mobile livestock or wild herbivores, and limit the role of fire. We present an analysis of the current status of land cover for 12 historical grassland and savanna communities (regions) within the US portion of the Great Plains, in terms of the amount remaining as rangelands and the degree of fragmentation. Our analyses highlight and quantify the critical contribution of restored grasslands, such as those enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, to the future conservation of Great Plains biodiversity. Engaging private landowners to manage disturbance regimes at larger spatial scales will require acknowledging that domestic livestock grazing helps to sustain wildlife habitats. Key opportunities for grassland management include (1) spatial prioritization of grassland restoration and the reintroduction of grazing and fire in these lands, (2) consolidation of lands with common management objectives to increase the spatial scale at which grazers and fire can move within the landscape, and (3) partnerships among government agencies, landowners, businesses and conservation organization that enhance cross-jurisdiction management and address biodiversity conservation at the scale of grassland landscapes rather than pastures.

Technical Abstract: Fauna of North American Great Plains evolved strategies to contend with the region’s extreme spatiotemporal variability in weather and relatively low annual primary productivity. The capacity for large-scale movement (migration and/or nomadism) enables many species, from bison to lark buntings, to track seasonal pulses of productivity at spatial scales larger than most Great Plains counties. Furthermore, many sedentary species still rely on metapopulation dynamics over broad landscapes for long-term population viability. The imposition of a complex pattern of land ownership and land use boundaries onto Great Plains grasslands challenges the conservation of these species. Approaches to public and private rangeland management, frequently focused at the scale of individual pastures or ranches, limit our ability to conserve disturbance regimes and sustain animal movement, dispersal, and metapopulation dynamics at broad spatial scales. Using the National Land Cover Database combined with the US Department of Agriculture’s Cropland Data Layers for 2011 - 2017, we present an analysis of the current status of land cover for 12 historical grassland and savanna communities (regions) within the US portion of the Great Plains, in terms of the amount remaining as rangelands and the degree of fragmentation. Our analyses highlight and quantify the critical contribution of restored grasslands, such as those enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, to the future conservation of Great Plains biodiversity. Engaging private landowners to manage disturbance regimes at larger spatial scales will require acknowledging that domestic livestock grazing can function as a central component of Great Plains disturbance regimes, provided they can move at large spatial scales, and coexist with a diverse array of native flora and fauna. Key opportunities to increase the scale of grassland management include (1) spatial prioritization of grassland restoration and the reintroduction of grazing and fire in these lands, (2) consolidation of lands with common management objectives to increase the spatial scale at which grazers and fire can move within the landscape, and (3) partnerships among government agencies, landowners, businesses and conservation organization that enhance cross-jurisdiction management and address biodiversity conservation at the scale of grassland landscapes rather than pastures.