Avian Habitat Following Grazing Native Warm-Season Forages in the Mid-South United States

Native warm-season grasses (NWSG) currently are being promoted for livestock forage and biofuels feedstock in the Mid-South. However, there are no published data on how NWSG managed with livestock in the Mid-South may affect habitat for wildlife. We conducted a study to evaluate habitat for grasslan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Rangeland ecology & management 2015-03, Vol.68 (2), p.166-172
Main Authors: Harper, Craig A., Birckhead, Jessie L., Keyser, Patrick D., Waller, John C., Backus, Matt M., Bates, Gary E., Holcomb, Elizabeth D., Brooke, Jarred M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Andropogon gerardii
biofuels
biomass
Birds
botanical composition
brood rearing
cattle
Colinus virginianus
feedstocks
forage
grassland songbirds
Grasslands
grazing
grazing intensity
Herbivores
invertebrates
native warm-season grasses
nesting
northern bobwhite
Panicum virgatum
Pastures
songbirds
Tripsacum dactyloides
vegetation structure
warm season
warm season grasses
Wildlife conservation
wildlife habitats
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Summary:Native warm-season grasses (NWSG) currently are being promoted for livestock forage and biofuels feedstock in the Mid-South. However, there are no published data on how NWSG managed with livestock in the Mid-South may affect habitat for wildlife. We conducted a study to evaluate habitat for grassland songbirds and northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) in response to two cattle grazing treatments in NWSG pastures across three sites in Tennessee, 2010 and 2011. We evaluated vegetation composition and structure along with invertebrate availability during the primary nesting season for grassland songbirds and the typical brood-rearing season for the northern bobwhite. Grazing treatments included full-season (May to August) grazing and early-season (30 days beginning in May) grazing, after which subsequent growth was taken as a biofuel harvest postdormancy. Forage treatments included big bluestem/indiangrass mixture, switchgrass, and eastern gamagrass. Vegetation composition was dominated by the planted forages in all pastures. All forage types and both grazing treatments provided suitable structure for grassland songbirds and bobwhite during the primary nesting season. Full-season grazing maintained suitable structure through the brooding period, with greater openness at the ground level and angle of obstruction, as well as optimal vegetation height (
ISSN:1550-7424
1551-5028
1551-5028
DOI:10.1016/j.rama.2015.01.005