“Anybody can love the mountains, but it takes a soul to love the prairie.” — Willa Cather
Since the 1800s, North Americans have historically overlooked the significance of grasslands. With centuries of farming, ranching, energy development and suburban growth, grassland protection and conservation have been pushed aside.
The top 5 woody invasive plant species in the Great Plains Grasslands include; Eastern redcedar, Honey mesquite, Chinese tallow, Ashe juniper, and Redberry juniper. Past brush management efforts have been unable to stop or reverse the loss of grasslands at county, state, or regional scales. Traditional management efforts have assumed that there are tolerable levels of the top five woody pests in grasslands before encroachment becomes a resource concern and mechanical or chemical removal of woody plants will restore a site back to a grassland. Scientists are now recommending more integrated approaches for dealing with woody species and ending the reinvasion cycle in grasslands.
[Read more…] about Integrated Pest Management for Woody Encroachment
In a recent study, the Army Research Laboratory in N.M. and the USDA ARS’s Jornada Experimental Range, used 100 years of measurements of perennial grass growth to identify how climate controls changes in grass cover.
[Read more…] about 100 Years of Data to Identify the Right Time to Regenerate Perennial Grasses
The Society for Rangeland Management recently released their Rangeland Ecosystem Services Report: Connecting Nature and People. The report includes five key rangeland service topic areas including; food and fiber, water as an ecosystem driver in rangelands, carbon sequestration and security, plant and insect biodiversity, and wildlife habitat provision.
Photo: Rangeland Ecosystem Services Report
[Read more…] about SRM Multidisciplinary Rangeland Ecosystem Services Report
Have you seen the latest Pocket Guide from the Great Plains Grasslands Extension Partnership? This Pocket Guide integrates new guidelines for reducing woody encroachment with a planning process. It is also an important resource that further incorporates the latest, science-based approaches for reducing woody encroachment.
[Read more…] about Reducing Woody Encroachment in Grasslands: A Pocket Guide for Planning and Design
Did you know that 22.4 million tons of rangeland production are lost annually in the Great Plains to woody encroachment? Or that The Great Plains accounts for approximately 95% of the nation’s lost rangeland production to woody encroachment?
In Texas, close to 95% of the land lies in private ownership, which means relying on collaborative solutions and public-private partnerships to support the stewardship and conservation of natural resources for the public good.
[Read more…] about Conserving Texas: Quantifying Ecological Return on Investment
Did you know that Texas Landowner demographics are surveyed by the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute (NRI)? This type of information is incredibly valuable and insightful to the changing demographic occurring across Texas working landscapes.
Did you know that your soil is a living, breathing ecosystem and is easily one of the most complex ecosystems on earth?! There are billions (perhaps trillions) of organisms in a small handful of healthy soil, with millions of different species.
The Central Texas Fuels Reduction Grant has officially opened! This an opportunity for Central Texas Landowners to apply for the SFAM Mechanical Fuels Reduction Grant to help reduce risks posed to their property by wildfire.