Ecological restorations have become increasingly important as humans have made irreversible changes to ecosystems; biogeochemical cycle alterations and land use changes have led to degraded conditions (Vitousek et al. 1997a). While some modifications to the environment are unavoidable, society is beginning to realize that changes are necessary. While some ecosystem functions may be beyond repair (e.g., biodiversity loss and extinction of species), it is important that the problem is faced head on and those functions that are still salvageable be restored. These environmental repairs can be done through ecological restoration. I looked at two different ecosystems, prairie streams and agricultural streams, that have undergone restoration to help functions. Patch-burn grazing (PBG) is increasingly used as a management practice on the few remaining tallgrass prairie parcels in an effort to simulate effects of large ungulate grazers. Yet, little is known about potential impacts and recovery of aquatic habitats from this management approach. My objective was to assess the influence of PBG with cattle on prairie streams and build on previous research at this site. I hypothesized that cattle grazing would negatively impact water quality and reduce stream biotic integrity, but riparian fencing would mitigate these impacts. We also assessed stream recovery for two years following the removal of ungulates from the study sites and hypothesized that biological and chemical effects would reverse. Six headwater streams (two controls, two PBG with 10 m fenced riparian zones, and two PBG with unfenced riparian zones) on Osage Prairie, Missouri, were sampled over seven years (2009-2015) encompassing pre-PBG (2 years), PBG (3 years), and post-PBG (2 years) periods. Macroinvertebrates and water chemistry were sampled monthly. Nitrate (NO3-) concentrations increased in the fenced and unfenced watersheds compared to the control watersheds (p = 0.015 and p < 0.0001, respectively) and between the fenced and unfenced watersheds (p = 0.001) during the PBG period relative to pre-PBG. Total phosphorus (TP) increased in the fenced and unfenced watersheds after grazing began compared to the control (both p < 0.0001) but did not differ between the fenced and unfenced watersheds (p = 0.187). Relative Chironomidae biomass and abundance increased in the unfenced watersheds in response to grazing (p = 0.008 and p < 0.001, respectively). No differences were observed in relative Chironomidae biomass and abundance, NO3-, and TP from pre-PBG to post-PBG indicating the recovery of these metrics. Results suggest that the negative effects of PBG on prairie streams can be somewhat mitigated by riparian fencing. Additionally, these streams are relatively resilient to PBG and recovery can take place during a rest cycle as brief as two years. Approximately one billion dollars is spent annually on restorations of degraded stream reaches in the United States. However, few projects are monitored upon completion, or monitoring focuses on a single parameter. Other than modifications to physical attributes of streams, the influence of restoration projects on ecosystem processes remains largely unknown. We sampled eleven Midwestern streams that had undergone habitat restorations from 3-15 years prior to sampling. Restoration techniques included in-stream habitat enhancements, bank stabilization, and riparian restoration. We predicted that gross primary production (GPP) would be lower in restored streams due to decreased nutrient inputs, and that respiration would be greater due to increased litter inputs from restored riparian areas. We also hypothesized that the restored streams would have greater invertebrate richness, abundance, and biomass, as well as high densities of intolerant taxa such as Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT taxa) due to higher water quality and better habitat. Restored reaches and unrestored upstream reaches were sampled for physical characteristics, water chemistry, benthic algal biomass, whole-stream metabolism, and macroinvertebrate communities. GPP in restored sites was marginally higher than unrestored sites (t5 = 2.53, p = 0.05), despite no differences in PO4-3, NO3-, or NH4+ concentrations. Three restored sites were autotrophic (P/R > 1), while four unrestored sites were heterotrophic. Total macroinvertebrate biomass was marginally higher in the restored sites compared to unrestored sites (t10 = 1.94; p = 0.08). EPT biomass was also marginally higher in restored sites than unrestored sites (t10 = 1.91; p = 0.09) but no difference was observed in EPT abundance. Results suggest that stream habitat restorations enhance some, but not all ecosystem processes and marginally enhance macroinvertebrate communities.

Livestock management influences the extent to which grazing lands provide resources for native species. We compared how livestock species – sheep or cattle – affected floral resources and bee and butterfly communities in low-diversity, post-Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) pastures managed with patch-burning. We sampled bees and butterflies three times per season 2017-2019 and counted flowering stems within 1 m of transects. Pastures grazed by sheep had significantly fewer flowers and significantly lower floral richness than cattle pastures. Native bees were three to sixteen times more abundant in cattle pastures compared to sheep. Butterfly communities were similar between grazing treatments, because agricultural-tolerant, habitat generalists comprised the majority of the butterfly community. Grassland-obligate butterflies comprised only 2% of observations. The dearth of grassland-obligate butterfly species and low native bee abundances suggest that post-CRP fields, especially those grazed by sheep, do not provide abundant and diverse floral resources for native bees and imperiled butterfly species.

Rangelands are heterogeneous working landscapes capable of supporting livestock production and biodiversity conservation, and heterogeneity-based rangeland management balances the potentially opposing production and conservation goals in these working landscapes. Within fire-dependent ecosystems, patch-burn grazing aims to create landscape patterns analogous to pre-European rangelands. Little work has tested the efficacy of patch-burn grazing in northern US Great Plains. We investigated patch contrast in above and belowground ecosystem properties and processes during the summer grazing seasons from 2017 ? 2020 on three patch-burn pastures stocked with cow-calf pairs and three patch-burn pastures stocked with sheep. We focused on vegetation structure, plant community composition, forage nutritive value, grazer selection, livestock weight gain, soil nutrient pools, soil microbial community composition, and decomposition activity. We used mixed-effect models and ordinations to determine whether differences: along the time since fire intensity gradient, between ecological sites, and between grazer types existed. Despite no significant shifts in the plant community, structural heterogeneity increased over time as the number of time since fire patches increased and was higher than homogeneously managed grasslands. Grazing livestock preferred recently burned patches where the available forage had a higher nutritive value and lower available biomass than surrounding patches at a given point in time. With the exception of 2018, livestock weight gains were consistent. Soil nutrient pools and microbial abundances differed more by ecological site than by the time since fire intensity gradient, and ecological sites exhibited similar nutrient and microbial responses to the time since fire intensity gradient. That belowground response variables were mostly resistant to patch-burn grazing is supportive of further use of this management, especially given the desirable results with aboveground response variables.

Master of Science / Department of Biology / Brett K. Sandercock / Grassland birds are declining throughout their native range. The Flint Hills of eastern Kansas and Oklahoma contain large tracts of tallgrass prairie, but intensification of agricultural practices may be contributing to ongoing population declines. Common rangeland management practices include annual burning coupled with heavy grazing by cattle. This system, known as intensive early stocking and burning, promotes homogeneous utilization of forage by cattle but may not provide habitat for some grassland bird species. Patch-burn grazing is an alternative management system that aims to restore heterogeneity on rangelands by recreating the fire-grazing interaction that would have historically occurred throughout the Great Plains. From 2011-2013, we examined responses of grassland birds to traditional rangeland management and patch-burn grazing by conducting vegetation surveys, line transect surveys, and nest monitoring on privately-owned pastures in Chase County and Greenwood County, Kansas. Vegetative heterogeneity was higher on patch-burned pastures, with unburned patches having higher visual obstruction and less bare ground. Densities of grassland birds differed by species and among habitat strata. Unburned patches on patch-burned pastures were associated with increased densities of Dickcissels (Spiza americana), Eastern Meadowlarks (Sturnella magna) and Grasshopper Sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum). Henslow’s Sparrows (A. henslowii) were only detected on patch-burned pastures. Nest survival of grassland songbirds was similar among management systems but varied by year. Probability of nest parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) varied among years and between treatments for Dickcissels and Grasshopper Sparrows, with overall lower rates on burned areas and during drought years. For Dickcissels and Grasshopper Sparrows, there was a significant reduction in host clutch size between parasitized versus unparasitized nests. Overall, nest survival of grassland songbirds in managed rangelands was low. Patch-burn grazing improved rangeland conditions and provided habitat for more species of birds, but did not increase nest survival. Drought conditions in 2012 and 2013 may have influenced the results of this study, as many landowners were unable to burn as planned. Further study is needed to determine underlying factors driving variation in nest success and parasitism rates for grassland birds, particularly on private lands which make up the vast majority of remnant tallgrass prairies.

Reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea) is a grass species that can dominate wet meadow plant communities. This study investigated if grazing by cattle on restored wet meadows suppresses reed canarygrass, thereby promoting the restored plant community. This study was conducted at two locations in northwest Minnesota. Management practices used were a patch-burn grazing treatment and a four-pasture high intensity-short duration grazing rotation. A pretreatment survey was conducted before grazing followed by annual surveys every five years after grazing. Both treatments reduced reed canarygrass canopy cover by 49 percent compared to non-grazed control sites. Grazed patches were moving towards a Carex dominated community. The community not invaded with reed canarygrass had similar native species richness at the end of the experiment in the rotational grazing treatment, and improved plant richness in the patch-burn grazing treatment. This study demonstrates grazing reduces cover of reed canarygrass, while maintaining or increasing native plant species richness.

Master of Science / Department of Agronomy / Walter H. Fick / Patch-burn grazing is a relatively new concept in terms of rangeland management. While numerous benefits have been associated with this system, in the tallgrass prairie of Kansas, cattle production and sustainability of rangeland are critical. In 2006, 253 ha at the KSU Bressner Range Research Unit in Woodson County, Kansas were subjected to spring patch-burn grazing (using one-third portions) and traditional full-burn grazing. Each treatment within the split-block design was replicated four times for 3 years. The objectives were to evaluate whether livestock performance would be compromised under this grazing system, to monitor the health of the rangeland, and to observe the usefulness of this tool as a potential control of the invasive plant sericea lespedeza [Lespedeza cuneata (Dumont) G. Don]. In regards to cattle performance, burn treatments had no significant difference in average daily gain (p≥0.10) in any of the 3 years. On average, cattle utilized 61% of the current year’s forage production in patch-burned portions, which was higher (p≤0.10) than that of unburned (30%) and full-burn (41%) portions. Results of the botanical composition show forb and woody plant composition did not differ between treatments, however differences (p≤0.10) were present in grass composition. Total annual grasses increased 19.1 percentage units under patch-burn and 2.1 units under full-burn, while total perennial grasses decreased 18.4 and 1.1 units, respectively. When evaluated by treatment area (one-third portion), results indicated that the 3-year cycle did allow enough time for recovery. At 2 years after treatment (2-YAT), no significant difference in composition(p≥0.10) was present between initial patch-burn portions and the full-burn pastures. Finally, in only 1 year of the study did cattle statistically consume a greater percentage of sericea lespedeza plants (p≤0.10) in the patch-burned portions (92%) than in full-burned pastures (35%). Biomass utilization did not differ (p≥0.10) between burn treatments. Surprisingly, there was a trend for the number of plants in the sampled areas of the patch-burn portions to decrease throughout the cycle. However, at the conclusion of the 3-year cycle, sericea densities did not differ(p≥0.10) between treatments. Patch-burn grazing shows promise as a potential management tool for Kansas land managers.