How grazing and soil quality affect native and exotic plant diversity in Rocky Mountain grasslands

Product Type: Journal Article

Year: 1999

Author(s): Stohlgren, T.J., L.D. Schell, and B. Vanden Heuvel

Suggested Citation:
Stohlgren, T.J., L.D. Schell, and B. Vanden Heuvel. 1999. How grazing and soil quality affect native and exotic plant diversity in Rocky Mountain grasslands. Ecological Applications 9(1): 45-64.

Abstract

We used multiscale plots to sample vascular plant diversity and soil characteristics in and adjacent to 26 long-term grazing exclosure sites in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota, USA. The exclosures were 7–60 yr old (31.2 +/- 2.5 yr, mean +/- 1 SE). Plots were also randomly placed in the broader landscape in open rangeland in the same vegetation type at each site to assess spatial variation in grazed landscapes…