Kentucky bluegrass invaded rangeland: ecosystem implications and adaptive management approaches

Gasch K, Caley and Toledo N, David and Baldwin, Carol and Bendel, Cayla and Fick, Walter and Gerhard, Leslie and Harmon, Jason and Hendrickson R, John and Hovick, Torre and Kral-O'Brien, Katherine and Lakey, Micayla and Nouwakpo, S.K. and Sedivec, Kevin (2020) Kentucky bluegrass invaded rangeland: ecosystem implications and adaptive management approaches. Rangelands. 42(4):106-116. 16 June 2020. Available: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rala.2020.05.001

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Abstract

USDA-NRCS National Resources Inventory data indicates that between 2011 and 2015 Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) was present in 14.5% on non-Federal rangelands nationally and 86% in North Dakota, 63% in South Dakota, 40% in Kansas, 38% in Nebraska, and 32% in Montana. Native grasslands provide important services such as nutrient cycling, forage and habitat for wildlife and livestock, pollinator habitat, carbon capture, and regulation of hydrologic cycles, among others. Therefore, grassland degradation due to invasive plant species has far-ranging consequences for both human and ecological systems. We present information from a symposium at the 2019 Society for Range Management Annual Meeting. The symposium covered three topic areas that have been the foci of NGP Kentucky bluegrass research in the last five years: (1) impacts of Kentucky bluegrass on ecosystem services (especially soil water regulation, pollinator services, and forage production); (2) opportunities for using adaptive management approaches that include natural disturbances (such as fire and livestock grazing) for restoring and maintaining diverse grasslands; and (3) how to effectively overcome social barriers to treatment options aimed at restoring these grasslands. We present brief summaries of research progress on these topics. We conclude that despite great advances in knowledge related to Kentucky bluegrass invaded ecosystems there are still knowledge gaps regarding management of this novel ecosystem under changing climatic conditions as well as challenges regarding large scale adoption of management practices needed to manage these systems appropriately.

Item Type:	Article
NWISRL Publication Number:	1718
Subjects:	Irrigated crops > Grass forage > Forage quality Irrigated crops > Grass forage
Depositing User:	Users 6 not found.
Date Deposited:	15 Nov 2021 22:49
Last Modified:	15 Nov 2021 22:49
Item ID:	1756
URI:	https://eprints.nwisrl.ars.usda.gov/id/eprint/1756