Degradation and restoration in remnant tallgrass prairie: Grazing history, soil carbon, and invasive species affect community composition and response to the fire-grazing interaction

Abstract

Soil resources, patterns of disturbance, and invasion by exotic species interact to affect the composition of vegetation communities in working rangeland landscapes. We use an NMDS ordination technique to describe the variation among tallgrass prairie communities in terms of soil organic carbon concentrations, grazing history, and the extent of invasion by tall fescue. We also describe how restoration of the fire-grazing interaction -- the single disturbance effected by grazers following spatially discreet fire events -- can control invasive species and rehabilitate ecosystem processes and function.