Introduced for forage and soil-conservation properties, old world bluestems began establishing and spreading through the Great Plains to the great detriment of native flora populations. While they are grazable grasses early in the growing season, rapid rates of maturation lead to unpalatability and decreased nutrient profiles much earlier than native warm-season grasses. Grazing, mowing, and spring burning seem to promote old world bluestem populations. When decreased cover of yellow bluestem was reported following late-summer prescribed fire treatment, our goal was to determine if similar effects could be found in Caucasian bluestem. Continue reading “Effects of Late-Summer Prescribed Fire on Botanical Composition, Soil Cover, and Forage Production in Caucasian Bluestem-Infested Rangeland in the Kansas Smoky Hills”
Tag: old-world bluestems
Summer Burning Reduces Caucasian Bluestem Frequency
by Helen Giefer, ASI graduate student with KC Olson, ruminant nutritionist
While Caucasian and yellow bluestem – collectively referred to as old-world bluestems – continue to spread across the state of Kansas, promising new research may provide landowners with new hope for controlling the invasive species. Upon the discovery that late-summer prescribed fire (August 1 to September 21) successfully set back yellow bluestem, a similar study is now underway for Cacausian bluestem. Continue reading “Summer Burning Reduces Caucasian Bluestem Frequency”
Effects of Late Summer Prescribed Fire on Botanical Composition, Soil Cover, and Forage Production in Caucasian Bluestem-Infested Rangeland in the Kansas Smoky Hills: Year 2 of 4
Objective: The objective was to document the effects late-summer prescribed fire on soil cover, botanical composition, and forage production in the Kansas Smoky Hills and the associated effects on dense Caucasian bluestem (Bothriochloa bladhii) stands therein.
Study Description: The study took place on a private ranch in Ellsworth County, in the Kansas Smoky Hills. Eighteen one-acre plots were assigned randomly to one of three prescribed-fire treatments: no burn, single burn (i.e., one burn treatment only in 2019), or biennial burn (i.e., two burn treatments in 2019 and 2021). Continue reading “Effects of Late Summer Prescribed Fire on Botanical Composition, Soil Cover, and Forage Production in Caucasian Bluestem-Infested Rangeland in the Kansas Smoky Hills: Year 2 of 4”
