Source: KANSAS STATE UNIV submitted to
TALLGRASS PRAIRIE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS AT THE KONZA PRAIRIE BIOLOGICAL STATION
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0217882
Grant No.
(N/A)
Project No.
KS428
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Oct 1, 2009
Project End Date
Sep 30, 2014
Grant Year
(N/A)
Project Director
Briggs, J.
Recipient Organization
KANSAS STATE UNIV
(N/A)
MANHATTAN,KS 66506
Performing Department
Biology
Non Technical Summary
The Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS) is a platform for basic research needed for enhancing the long-term productivity, sustainability, and conservation of Kansas rangelands and the resources they provide. This interdisciplinary program is designed to further our understanding of the ecology and management of native rangelands, particularly tallgrass prairie. The KPBS long-term prescribed fire management plan, and research on fire effects and other aspects of tallgrass prairie were initiated in 1972. KPBS became one of the original sites incorporated into the NSF Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program in 1980, initiating a more comprehensive long-term research program to investigate patterns and controls of productivity, plant and animal population and community dynamics, soil processes and nutrient cycling, surface and groundwater, as well as expanded studies of fire management regimes. Bison and cattle grazing treatments were added in 1992, expanding the research program to include various aspects of grazing ecology and management. Long-term studies were expanded in the 1990s to include experimental manipulations of precipitation patterns (irrigation plots and rainout shelters) to study responses of native rangelands to climatic variability and precipitation patterns associated with global change climate model predictions for the central U.S. Thus, the current KPBS research management includes a robust array of experimental treatments designed to analyze the three key factors (periodic fire, grazing, and climatic variability) that have overriding influence on the structure, functioning, and productivity of grassland ecosystems. The general objectives of the KPBS Action Plan include: 1) understanding the key ecological processes in native grassland ecosystems, 2) analysis of the effects of various management practices on the functioning, productivity, sustainability and biodiversity of native rangelands, 3) monitoring of soil, air, and water quality in Kansas grasslands and the factors that influence them, 4) the maintenance and support of a research infrastructure for a broad array of investigators, and 5) educating youth and the public regarding the ecology and conservation of natural and agricultural ecosystems and the importance of research for the sound stewardship and management of our natural and agricultural resources.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1120799107025%
1210799107025%
1320799207020%
1360799107020%
9036050302010%
Knowledge Area
136 - Conservation of Biological Diversity; 112 - Watershed Protection and Management; 132 - Weather and Climate; 903 - Communication, Education, and Information Delivery; 121 - Management of Range Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
0799 - Rangelands and grasslands, general; 6050 - Communities, areas, and regions;

Field Of Science
2070 - Meteorology and climatology; 1070 - Ecology; 3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS) is a platform for basic research needed for enhancing the long-term productivity, sustainability, and conservation of Kansas rangelands and the resources they provide. This program addresses multiple KAES core mission themes and long-term intended outcomes: Develop Systems for Improved Soil and Air Quality. The KPBS program addresses basic questions regarding soil processes and biota in the functioning native grassland ecosystems, carbon dynamics and sequestration in grasslands, and effects of rangeland management practices on productivity and soil quality Ensure Quality and Conservation of Surface Water and Groundwater. KPBS research provides valuable benchmark information on groundwater and surface waters and the influences of land management practices (fire, grazing, cropping) on water quality and aquatic ecosystem functioning. Develop Efficient, Coordinated Livestock Production Systems. The KPBS program provides information for assessing rangeland management impacts on the sustainability of livestock production on native rangelands while protecting the environment. Develop Agricultural Technologies and Information Systems. The KPBS program continues to develop and apply technological advances in remote sensing and GIS, in geo-monitoring, and in wide area wireless networking for remote data monitoring and collection. Prepare Youth to Be Responsible Citizens. KPBS education programs provide K-12 youth and community members with an increased understanding and appreciation of our agricultural and natural ecosystems and a knowledge base to be informed and responsible citizens in future planning and problem solving relating to agricultural and environmental issues.
Project Methods
The general methods and objectives of the KPBS Action Plan include: 1) understanding the key ecological processes in native grassland ecosystems, 2) analysis of the effects of various management practices on the functioning, productivity, sustainability and biodiversity of native rangelands, 3) monitoring of soil, air, and water quality in Kansas grasslands and the factors that influence them, 4) the maintenance and support of a research infrastructure for a broad array of investigators, and 5) educating youth and the public regarding the ecology and conservation of natural and agricultural ecosystems and the importance of research for the sound stewardship and management of our natural and agricultural resources. Specific objectives associated with each issue addressed in the proposed Action Plan include: 1. Characterization and monitoring of soil quality and soil processes (e.g. chemistry, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, fertility, microbial communities) in Kansas tallgrass prairie ecosystems as well as restored agricultural lands and measurement of effects of management practices on soil biology and chemistry, belowground ecosystem processes and productivity. 2. Monitoring of long-term patterns of air quality (wet and dry atmospheric deposition) in the Kansas Flint Hills region. 3. Monitoring and assessment of surface and groundwater hydrology and quality in relation to climate and land management. 4. Use remotely-sensed data (satellite imagery) and GIS as tools to assess regional land cover and environmental trends. Develop and apply new technologies for efficient collection and management of field-based data. 5. Continue long-term field studies of the patterns in the structure, composition, biodiversity, and function of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem, and effects of grazing, fire, and climate variability. Conduct short-term experiments to understand mechanisms causing these patterns. 6. Assessment of dynamics and patterns of wildlife populations and communities, and effects of land use and land management on wildlife habitat quality. 7. Provide on-site education (K-12) and teacher training programs on the ecology and conservation of natural and agricultural ecosystems for Kansas school districts.

Progress 10/01/09 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Konza Prairie program is an interdisciplinary research program with a long-term goal of building a comprehensive and detailed understanding of ecological processes in tallgrass prairie and other mesic grasslands, while contributing to broad synthetic and conceptual advances in ecology. Konza also provides education and training (K-12 to postgraduate), public outreach, and knowledge to inform grassland management and conservation. Our long-term, site-based research focuses on tallgrass prairie, but cross-site and comparative studies extend the relevance of research globally. Konza Prairie Biological Station research has focused on fire, grazing and climatic variability as three key interactive drivers responsible for the origin, evolution, persistence and contemporary ecological dynamics of tallgrass prairie and grasslands worldwide. The program has grown by building upon prior results, iteratively incorporating program has grown by building upon prior results, iteratively incorporating new questions and approaches, and expanding to include multiple ecological levels (genomic to landscape) and spatial and temporal scales. Early research at Konza addressed the effects of fire and grazing as influenced by a variable continental climate and heterogeneous landscape. We used long-term studies to test theory and advance fundamental ecological knowledge, while building a new focus on impacts of global change on grassland dynamics, with relevance to understanding, managing and conserving grasslands worldwide. Humans have long controlled grazing and fire, but we now alter other key drivers (nutrient inputs, atmospheric chemistry and climate) in grasslands. Research also focus on responses to changes in land-use including altered fire and grazing regimes Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Konza Prairie over the past five years have provided support for >56 graduate students from KSU and 11 other institutions, 8 REU students, and facilitated student activities in the KSU site REU site and Undergraduate Research Mentoring programs. We supported collaborations with U Botswana , U Pietermarizburg/South African National Parks and with both the South Africa and Botswana ILTER networks. We developed a KSU study-abroad course on African savannas (18 students to date), supported graduate field experiences in southern Africa (10 students to date), and hosted two international symposia. We supported reciprocal visits of Konza scientists with Aarhus U (Denmark) an avian conservation group in Uruguay, and grassland scientists in China. Konza scientists led and participated in numerous Network-level activities and working groups (Climate Change, Experiments within the LTER Network, EcoSeRE and others). Dr. John Blair chaired the 2011 Science Council Planning Committee, presented at the 2011 NSF Mini-Symposium, and served on the LTER Executive Board (2011-2014). Dr. John M. Briggs served on the Network Information System Advisory Committee and Communication Committee, and Dr. David Hartnett served on the US ILTER committee. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Konza Prairei research was communicated through KS Extension and regional NGOs to inform land management and conservation practitioners and policy makers on improved grazing and fire management, conservation of grasslands, improved burning and air quality issues, and grassland restoration. In 2013, KSU and the National Wildlife Federation jointly hosted the 2nd America's Grasslands Conference, attended by >200 participants. The Konza Prairie Schoolyard LTER program engaged > 1000 K-12 students yr-1 in realistic and relevant site-based science activities which isbased upon the goals of this project. KNZ scientists, students, and docents host the biennial "Visitor's Day" (~1500 people/yr), featuring LTER research and education programs. Konza scientists also provided scientific expertise and advice on the creation of the Flint Hills Discovery Center (FHDC), a natural history museum in Manhattan, KS (opened in 2013). The mission of the FDHC is to "serve as a principal place for learning and understanding about the tallgrass prairie and the Flint Hills eco-region in particular; to assure its long-term preservation." Konza scientists and students deliver numerous presentations and talks each year to various civic groups as well as educational, professional, and conservation organizations and agencies (e.g., The International Grassland Congress, Grassland Society of Southern Africa, The Nature Conservancy, The National Wildlife Federation, National Parks Conservation Association, National Bison Association, KS Dept. of Wildlife & Parks, Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station, and other public education events). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During the past five years, Konza scientist and students produced or contributed to 384 publications, including 305 refereed papers, 3 books, 13 chapters, 56 theses/dissertations, and 7 miscellaneous publications. Konza publications include site-based, cross-site and network-level contributions in a mix of discipline-specific to high-impact journals. During this time, we documented multi-decadal responses to fire frequency, season of fire, and combinations of fire and grazing by native (bison) or domestic (cattle) ungulates. Grazing and fire have some comparable effects in grasslands (e.g., removal of aboveground biomass), but many community and ecosystem responses differ. We expanded studies of the impact of fire and grazers on grassland streams. Dissolved black organic C in streams was not unusually high relative to other biomes despite the high fire frequency at Konza, and there was no relationship between fire frequency and levels of dissolved black organic C in KNZ streams Studies of bison and cattle effects on stream water quality, sediment transport, and geomorphology revealed greater effects of cattle on nutrient and sediment transport relative to bison, which spend less time in stream and riparian areas.Climate changes and increased atmospheric N loading interact with fire and grazing to drive biogeochemical responses and feedbacks on KNZ. Soil N availability mediates grassland response to these drivers. Konza Prairie's restoration experiments inform conservation and test ecological theory. We found that plant-soil feedbacks under the non-steady state conditions of restored prairie differ from theoretical expectations.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Alexander, H.A., K.E. Mauck, A.E. Whitfield, K.A. Garrett, and C.M. Malmstrom. 2014. Plant-virus interactions and the agro-ecological interface. European Journal of Plant Pathology 138: 529-537.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Avolio, M., C.C. Chang, J.J. Weis, and M.D. Smith. 2014. The effects of genotype richness and genomic dissimilarity of Andropogon gerardii on invasion resistance and productivity. Plant Ecology and Diversity 7: -.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Avolio, M.L., S. E. Koerner, K.J. La Pierre, K.R. Wilcox, G.W.T. Wilson, M.D. Smith, and S.L. Collins. 2014. Changes in plant community composition, not diversity, during a decade of nitrogen and phosphorus additions drive above-ground productivity in a tallgrass prairie. Journal of Ecology 102: 1649-1660.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Baer, S.G., D.J. Gibson, A.M. Benscoter, L.K. Reed, R.E. Campbell, R.P. Klopf, J.E. Willand, and B.R. Wodika. 2014. No effect of seed source on multiple aspects of ecosystem functioning during ecological restoration: cultivars compared to local ecotypes of dominant grasses. Evolutionary Applications 7: 323-335.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Brunsell, N.A., J.B. Nippert, and T.L. Buck. 2014. Impacts of seasonality and surface heterogeneity on water-use efficiency in mesic grasslands. Ecohydrology 7: 1223-1233.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Chang, C.C, and M.D. Smith. 2014. Direct and indirect relationships between genetic diversity of a dominant grass, community diversity and above-ground productivity in tallgrass prairie. Journal of Vegetation Science 25: 470-480.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Cotrufo, M.F., J. Soong, M.L. Vandegehuchte, T. Ngryen, K. Denef, E.A. Shaw, Z.A. Sylvain, C.M.D. Tomasel, U.N. Nielsen, and D.H. Wall. 2014. Naphthalene addition to soil surfaces: A feasible method to reduce soil micro-arthropods with negligible direct effects on soil C dynamics. Applied Soil Ecology 74: 21-29.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Dodds, W. K., S.M. Collins, S.K. Hamilton, J. L. Tank, S. Johnson, J. R. Webster, K. S. Simon, M. R. Whiles, H. M. Rantala, W. H. McDowell, S.D. Peterson, T. Riis, C. L. Crenshaw, S. A. Thomas, P. B. Kristensen, B. M. Cheever, A. S. Flecker, N.A. Griffiths, T. Crowl, E. J. Rosi-Marshall, R. El-Sabaawi, and E. Marti. 2014. You are not always what we think you eat: selective assimilation across multiple whole-stream isotopic tracer studies. Ecology 95: 2757-2767.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Eby, S., D.E. Burkepile, R.W.S. Fynn, C.E. Burns, N. Govender, N. Hagenah, S.E. Koerner, K.J. Matchett, D.I. Thompson, K.R. Wilcox, S.L. Collins, K.P. Kirkman, A.K. Knapp, and M.D. Smith. 2014. Loss of a large grazer impacts savanna grassland plant communities similarly in North America and South Africa. Oecologia 175: 293-303.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Forrestel, E.J., M.J. Donoghue, and M.D. Smith. 2014. Convergent phylogenetic and functional responses to altered fire regimes in mesic savanna grasslands of North America and South Africa. New Phytologist 203: 1000-1011.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Gibson, D.J., G. Sendor, J. Donatelli, S.G. Baer, and L. Johnson. 2014. Fitness among population sources of a dominant species (Andropogon gerardii Vitman) used in prairie restoration. Torrey Botanical Society 140: 269-279.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Giuliani, A.L., E.F. Kelly, and A.K. Knapp. 2014. Geographic variation in growth and phenology of two dominant Central US grasses: Consequences for climate change. Journal of Plant Ecology 7: 211-221.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Greer, M.J. and G.W.T. Wilson. 2014. Restoration Ecology: Introduction in a Timely Manner. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 95: 274-280.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Hallett, L.M., J.S. Hsu, Cleland, E.E., S.L. Collins, T.L. Dickson, E.C. Farrer, L.A. Gherardi, K.L. Gross, R.J. Hobbs, L. Turnbull, and K.N. Suding. 2014. Biotic mechanisms of community stability shift along a precipitation gradient. Ecology 95: 1693-1700.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Hautier, Y., E.W. Seabloom, E.T. Borer, P.B. Adler, W.S. Harpole, H. Hillebrand, E.M. Lind, A.S. MacDougall, C.J. Stevens, J.D. Bakker, Y.M. Buckley, C. Chu, S.L. Collins, P. Daleo, E.I. Damschen, K.F. Davies, P.A. Fay, J. Firn, D.S. Gruner, V.L. Jin, J.A. Klein, J.M.H. Knops, K.J. La Pierre, W. Li, R.L. McCulley, B.A. Melbourne, J.L. Moore, L.R. OHalloran, S.M. Prober, A.C. Risch, M. Sankaran, M. Schuetz, and A. Hector. 2014. Eutrophication weakens stabilizing effects of diversity in natural grasslands. Nature 508: 521-525.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Hautier, Y., E.W. Seabloom, E.T. Borer, P.B. Adler, W.S. Harpole, H. Hillebrand, E.M. Lind, A.S. MacDougall, C.J. Stevens, J.D. Bakker, Y.M. Buckley, C. Chu, S.L. Collins, P. Daleo, E.I. Damschen, K.F. Davies, P.A. Fay, J. Firn, D.S. Gruner, V.L. Jin, J.A. Klein, J.M.H. Knops, K.J. La Pierre, W. Li, R.L. McCulley, B.A. Melbourne, J.L. Moore, L.R. OHalloran, S.M. Prober, A.C. Risch, M. Sankaran, M. Schuetz, and A. Hector. 2014. Eutrophication weakens stabilizing effects of diversity in natural grasslands. Nature 508: 521-525. Jumpponen, A. and K.L, Jones. 2014. Tallgrass prairie soil fungal communities are resilient to climate change. Fungal Ecology 10: 44-57. Kaufman, G.A. and D. W. Kaufman. 2014. Plains harvest mice in tallgrass prairie: Abundance, habitat association and individual attributes. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 117: 167-180.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Kaufman, G.A. and D. W. Kaufman. 2014. Plains harvest mice in tallgrass prairie: Abundance, habitat association and individual attributes. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 117: 167-180. Klopf, R.P., S.G. Baer, and D.J. Gibson. 2014. Convergent and contingent community responses to grass source and dominance during prairie restoration across a longitudinal gradient. Environmental Management 53: 252-265.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Koerner, S.E., and S.L. Collins. 2014. Interactive effects of grazing, drought, and fire on grassland plant communities in North America and South Africa. Ecology 95: 98-109. Koerner, S.E., D.E. Burkepile, R.W.S. Fynn, C.E. Burns, S. Eby, N. Govender, N. Hagenah, K.J. Matchett, D.I. Thompson, K.R. Wilcox, S.L. Collins, K.P. Kirkman, A.K. Knapp, and M.D. Smith. 2014. Plant community response to loss of large herbivores differs between North American and South African savanna grasslands. Ecology 95: 808-816. Koerner, S.E., S.L. Collins, J.M. Blair, A.K. Knapp, and M.D. Smith. 2014. Rainfall variability has minimal effects on grassland recovery from repeated grazing. Journal of Vegetation Science 25: 36-44. La Pierre, K.J., A. Joern, and M.D. Smith. 2014. Invertebrate, not small vertebrate, herbivores impact plant community composition and forb biomass in tallgrass prairie. Oikos : -. Ling, B.H., D.G. Goodin, R.L. Mohler, A.N. Laws, and A. Joern. 2014. Estimating canopy nitrogen content in a heterogeneous grassland with varying fire and grazing treatments: Konza Prairie, Kansas, USA. Remote Sensing 6: 4430-4453.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Ling, B.H., D.G. Goodin, R.L. Mohler, A.N. Laws, and A. Joern. 2014. Estimating canopy nitrogen content in a heterogeneous grassland with varying fire and grazing treatments: Konza Prairie, Kansas, USA. Remote Sensing 6: 4430-4453. Ocheltree, T.W., J.B. Nippert, and P.V.V. Prasad. 2014. Stomatal responses to changes in vapor pressure deficit reflect tissue-specific differences in hydraulic conductance. Plant, Cell and Environment 37: 132-139. Ratajczak, Z., J.B. Nippert, and T.W. Ocheltree. 2014. Abrupt transition of mesic grassland to shrubland: evidence for thresholds, alternative attractors, and regime shifts. Ecology 95: 2633-2645.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Shi, Z., M.L. Thomey, M. Mowll, M. Litvak, N.A. Brunsell, S.L. Collins, W.T. Pockman, M.D. Smith, A.K. Knapp, and Y. Luo. 2014. Differential effects of extreme drought on production and respiration: Synthesis and modeling analysis. Biogeosciences 11: 621-633. Sylvain, Z.A., D.H Wall, K.L Cherwin, D.P.C Peters, L.G Reichmann, and O.E. Sala. 2014. Soil animal responses to moisture availability are largely scale, not ecosystem dependent: Insight from a cross-site study. Global Change Biology 20: 2631-2643. Towne, E.G., and J.M. Craine. 2014. Ecological consequences of shifting the timing of burning tallgrass prairie. PLOS One 9: e103423: -. Troia, M.J. and K.B. Gido. 2014. Towards a mechanistic understanding of fish species niche divergence along a river continuum. Ecosphere 5:art41: -.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: VanderWeide, B.L., D.C. Hartnett, and D.L. Carter. 2014. Belowground bud banks of tallgrass prairie are insensitive to multi-year, growing-season drought. Ecosphere 5: art103: -.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Veach, A.M., W.K. Dodds, and A. Skibbee. 2014. Fire and Grazing Influences on Rates of Riparian Woody Plant Expansion along Grassland Streams. PLOS ONE 9:e106922: - Wodika, B.R., S.G. Baer, and R.P. Klopf. 2014. Colonization and recovery of invertebrate ecosystem engineers during prairie restoration. Restoration Ecology 22: 456-464.
  • Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Blair J.M., J. Nippert and J. Briggs. 2014. Grassland Ecology. In The Plant Sciences - Ecology and the Environment (R. Monson, ed.), SpringerReference. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg,
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Denton, E. 2014. When a drought is not a drought: Timing determines productivity responses to drought in a mesic grassland. MS Thesis, Colorado State University. Fort Collins, CO. Grischkowsky, S.A. 2014. Did selective breeding of a non-native grass promote invasiveness?. MS Thesis, Oklahoma State University. Stillwater, OK. Harris, P.T. 2014. The role of deer browsing on plant community development and ecosystem functioning during tallgrass prairie restoration. MS Thesis, Southern Illinois University. Carbondale, IL. Jackson, K.E. 2014. Influence of patch-burn grazing and riparian protection on the ecological integrity of headwater prairie streams. MS Thesis, Southern Illinois University. Carbondale, IL. Larson, D. M. 2014. The influence of fire and grazing on tallgrass prairie streams and herpetofauna. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. Martin, E. 2014. Ontogenetic shifts, habitat USE and community structure: how fishes use and influence protected tallgrass prairie streams. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. Ott, J.P. 2014. Ecological implications of grass bud bank and tiller dynamics in mixed-grass prairie. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. Ratajczak, Z. 2014. Ecological thresholds and abrupt transitions of tallgrass prairie to shrublands and woodlands. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. Soong, J. 2014. Moving beyond mass loss: Advancing understanding about the fate of decomposing leaf litter and pyrogenic organic matter in the mineral soil. PhD Dissertation, Colorado State University. Fort Collins, CO. Troia, M.J. 2014. A mechanistic framework for understanding prairie stream fish distributions. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Stanton, N.L. 2014. How does your prairie (re)grow?: Interactions of seed additions with resource availability, heterogeneity, and disturbance on recruitment and diversity in a restored tallgrass prairie. MS Thesis, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.


Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Our activities on KPBS benefit a wide range of individuals. This includes scientists across the world using the results from our research in helping understand prairie ecosystems. In addition, local ranchers are helped by our activities in understanding how grazing impact grasslands. Finally, through our extensive education programs K-12, undergraduates and graduate students are impacted by our program. The KPBS hosted numerous meetings and conferences. Some of them included the KS. Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, the Board meeting of the Kansas Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, Grassland Ecologists from The Nature Conservancy, the annual workshop of the Konza Prairie Long Term Ecological Program and undergraduate students from the Haskell Environmental Research Studies Institute. During all of these occasions, the results of the long-term experiments and resulting research results at KPBS are shared with a wide range of individuals. Konza Environmental Education PProgram has a two-fold mission of increasing appreciation and understanding of natural ecosystems and of the process and value of science among K-12 students and the public. With continued support from the School Yard LTER program (SLTER) in 2012, we involved ~1000 additional students in activities at Konza. Data collected from SLTER activities will continue to be incorporated into SLTER databases. In this way, individual class data can be accessed along with the long-term databases through the Internet and manipulated in the classroom to give students a better understanding of the process of science and the value of long-term ecological information. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Training is available for undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral students. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Every other year we have an open house where the genera public is invited to see our on-going research and have guided tours of the site. In addition, a nature trail is available to the general public 365 days a year. http://kpbs.konza.ksu.edu/konzatrails.html What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We will contine to provide opportunties for individuals to work on site.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS) studies continued to investigate the impacts of environmental change (altered regional climate, nutrient enrichment, changing land-use and land cover patterns, altered land management, and exotic species invasions) on regional rangelands, and aspects of the biodiversity in managed grassland ecosystems. Many of our core datasets are based on documenting long-term responses to these watershed-level manipulations, and these watersheds continue to be used by numerous visiting researchers. For example, in 2012-13 watersheds with different fire regimes were used for studies of genetic plant population structure and community invasibility by graduate students from Yale (Melinda Smith, PI), studies of methanotrophic bacterial communities by researchers from Colorado State University (Joe von Fischer, PI), studies of Panicum virgatum ecotypic variation and physiology by students from St. Joseph University (Clint Springer, PI), studies of C cycling and decomposer communities by researchers from Colorado State University (Francesca Cotfuro, PI), and for studies of climate change by graduate students from Colorado State University and the University of New Mexico. In Spring of 2013, a 15-year-old restored prairie was used to initiate a study to address the role of niche availability in the recruitment of new species in restored prairie. Small plots were delineated in this restored area and subset of these plots were subjected to a soil disturbance treatment and then seeded with the same suite and species added to the heterogeneity experiment this year. This project aims to elucidate whether soil disturbance and associated change in resource supply interacts with propagule supply to affect biodiversity. We continue our whole-watershed riparian vegetation removal project. We finished preliminary (pre) sampling of sediments, algae, stream invertebrates, terrestrial insect inputs to streams, and riparian spider communities the whole-watershed removal. We also completed baseline sampling of geomorphology, oxygen dynamics, riparian sediments, and vegetation transects. Post removal sampling is ongoing. We continued investigations of stream community structure function, stream food web dynamics, and patterns and controls of secondary productivity in grassland streams. Long-term monitoring of fish assemblages in 2013 represents the 19th year of data collection from Kings Creek. A new stream geomorphology program was initiated at long term monitoring sites in 10 Konza watersheds across a range of fire and grazing treatments and including the riparian removal watershed. The monitoring network was extended beyond Konza to complimentary sites in pastures intensively managed by the KSU Agronomy Department for beef cattle production to include sites more representative of the private ranch lands throughout the region. Initial baseline samples of channel cross sectional morphology and sediment substrate characteristics have documented significant differences between ungrazed, bison grazed and cattle grazed stream channels.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Gibson, D.J., S.G. Baer, R.P. Klopf, L.K. Reed, B.R. Wodika, and J.E. Willand. 2013. Limited effects of dominant species population source on community composition during community assembly. Journal of Vegetation Science 24: 429-440.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Gill, J.L., K.K. McLauchlan, A.M. Skibbe, S. Goring, C.R. Zirbel, and J.W. Williams. 2013. Linking abundances of the dung fungus Sporormiella to the density of bison: implications for assessing grazing by megaherbivores in paleorecords. Journal of Ecology 101: 1125-1136.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Hartman J.C. and J.B. Nippert. 2013. Physiological and growth responses of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) in native stands under passive air temperature manipulation. Global Change Biology-Bioenergy 5: 683-692.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Ji, B., C.A. Gehring, G.W.T. Wilson, R.M. Miller, L. Flores-Renteria, and N.C. Johnson. 2013. Patterns of diversity and adaptation in Glomeromycota from three prairie grasslands. Molecular Ecology 22: 2573-2587.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Joern, A. and A. Laws. 2013. Ecological mechanisms underlying arthropod species diversity in grasslands. Annual Review of Entomology 58: 19-36.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Koerner, S.E. and S.L. Collins. 2013. Small-scale patch structure in North American and South African grasslands responds differently to grazing and fire. Landscape Ecology 28: 1293-1306.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Larson D.M., B.P. Grudzinski, W.K. Dodds, M. Daniels, A. Skibbe, and A. Joern. 2013. Blazing and grazing: influences of fire and bison on tallgrass prairie stream water quality. Freshwater Science 32: 779-791.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Larson, D.M., W.K. Dodds, K.E. Jackson, M.R. Whiles, and K.R. Winders. 2013. Ecosystem Characteristics of Remnant, Headwater Tallgrass Prairie Streams. Journal of Environmental Quality 42: 239-249.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Mandyam, K., J. Roe and A. Jumpponen. 2013. Arabidopsis thaliana model system reveals a continuum of responses to root endophyte colonization. Fungal Biology 117: 250-260.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Martin, E.C., J.E. Whitney, and K.B. Gido. 2013. Habitat associations of stream fishes in a rare and declining ecosystem. American Midland Naturalist 170: 39-51.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: McNew, L.B., A.J. Gregory, and B.K. Sandercock. 2013. Spatial heterogeneity in habitat selection: nest site selection by Greater Prairie-Chickens. Journal of Wildlife Management 77: 791-801.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Nippert, J.B., T.W. Ocheltree, G.L. Orozco, Z. Ratajczak, B. Ling, and A.M. Skibbe. 2013. Evidence of Physiological Decoupling from Grassland. PLoS ONE 8: 81630-.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Rivers, J.W., M.A. Blundell., T.M. Loughin., B.D. Peer, and S.I. Rothstein. 2013. The exaggerated begging behaviour of an obligate avian brood parasite is shared with a nonparasitic close relative. Animal Behaviour 86: 529-536.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Roman, S.A., W.C. Johnson, and C.E. Geiss. 2013. Grass firesan unlikely process to explain the magnetic properties of prairie soils. Geophysical Journal International 195: 1566-1575.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Russell, D. M., W. K. Dodds, K. E. Jackson, M. R. Whiles, and K. Wynders. 2013. Ecosystem characteristics of remnant, headwater tallgrass prairie streams. Journal of Environmental Quality 42: 239-249.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Ungerer, M.C., C.A. Weitekamp, A. Joern, G. Towne, and J.M. Briggs. 2013. Genetic variation and mating success in managed American plains bison. Journal of Heredity 104: 182-191.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Willand, J.E., S.G. Baer, D.J. Gibson, and R.P. Klopf. 2013. Temporal dynamics of plant community regeneration sources during tallgrass prairie restoration. Plant Ecology 214: 1169-1180.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: OKeefe, K., N. Tomeo, J.B. Nippert, and C.J. Springer. 2013. Population origin and genome size do not impact Panicum virgatum (switchgrass) responses to variable precipitation. Ecosphere 4: 37-.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Olsen, J.T., K.L. Caudle, L.C. Johnson, S.G. Baer, and B. Maricle. 2013. Environmental and genetic variation in leaf anatomy among populations of Andropogon gerardii (Poaceae) along a precipitation gradient. American Journal of Botany 100: 1957-1968.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Reisinger, A.J., J.M. Blair, C.W. Rice, and W.K. Dodds. 2013. Woody vegetation removal stimulates riparian and benthic denitrification in tallgrass prairie. Ecosystems 16: 547-560.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Zeglin, L.H., P.J. Bottomley, A. Jumpponen, C.W. Rice, M. Arango, A. Lindsley, A. McGowan, P. Mfombep, D.D. Myrold. 2013. Altered precipitation regime affects the function and composition of soil microbial communities on multiple time scales. Ecology 94: 2334-2345.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Carson, M. 2013. Responses to long-term fertilization and burning: impacts on nutrient dynamics and microbial composition in a tallgrass prairie. MS Thesis, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Carter, D. 2013. Grassland restoration in a changing world: consequences of practices and variable environments. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Jackson, K.E. 2013. Influences of patch-burn grazing and riparian protection on the ecological integrity of tallgrass prairie headwater streams. MS thesis, Southern Illinois University. Carbondale, IL.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Klopf, R.P. 2013. Community and ecosystem changes in tallgrass prairie restorations: the effects of population source and diversity. PhD Dissertation, Southern Illinois University. Carbondale, IL.
  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Vanderweide, B. 2013. Grazing and drought in tallgrass prairie: the role of belowground bud banks in vegetation dynamics. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: An, N., K.P. Price, and J.M. Blair. 2013. Estimating aboveground net primary productivity of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem of the Central Great Plains using AVHRR NDVI. International Journal of Remote Sensing 34: 3717-3735.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Avolio, M., J. Beaulieu, and M.D. Smith. 2013. Genetic diversity of a dominant C4 grass is altered with increased precipitation variability. Oecologia 171: 571-581.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Avolio, M.L. and M.D. Smith. 2013. Correlations between genetic and species diversity: effects of resource quantity and heterogeneity. Journal of Vegetation Science 24: 1185-1194.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Avolio, M.L. and M.D. Smith. 2013. Mechanisms of selection: Phenotypic differences among genotypes explain patterns of selection in a dominant species. Ecology 94: 953-965
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Bertrand, K.N., M.R. Whiles, K.B. Gido, and J.N. Murdock. 2013. Influence of macroconsumers, stream position, and nutrient gradients on invertebrate assemblage development following flooding in intermittent prairie streams. Hydrobiologia 714: 169-182.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Blanco-Fontao, B., B.K. Sandercock, J.R. Obeso, L.B. McNew, and M. Quevedo. 2013. Effects of sexual dimorphism and landscape composition on the trophic behavior of Greater Prairie-Chickens. PLoS ONE 8: 79986-.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Carter, D.L and J.M. Blair. 2013. Seed source has variable effects on species, communities, and ecosystem properties in grassland restorations. Ecosphere 4: 93-
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Cleland, E.E., S.L. Collins, T.L. Dickson, E.C. Farrer, K.L. Gross, L.A. Gherardi, L.M. Hallett, R.J. Hobbs, J.S. Hsu, K.N. Suding and L. Turnbull. 2013. Sensitivity of grassland plant community composition to spatial vs. temporal variation in precipitation. Ecology 94: 1687-1696.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Cochran, F.V., N.A. Brunsell, and D.B. Mechem. 2013. Comparing surface and mid-tropospheric CO2 concentrations from central U.S. grasslands. entropy 15: 606-623.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Coolon, J.D., K.L. Jones, TC. Todd, J.M. Blair, and M.A. Herman. 2013. Long-term nitrogen amendment alters the diversity and assemblage of soil bacterial communities in tallgrass prairie. PLoS ONE 8: 67884-.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Cox, C.M., W.W. Bockus, R.D. Holt, L. Fang, and K.A. Garrett. 2013. Spatial connectedness of plant species: potential links for apparent competition via plant diseases. Plant Pathology 62: 1195-1428
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Craine, J.M.. 2013. Long-term climate sensitivity of grazer performance: a cross-site study. PLOS ONE 8: 67065-.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Craine, J.M.. 2013. The importance of timing of precipitation for grassland productivity. Plant Ecology 213: 1085-1089.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Craine, J.M., E.G. Towne, D. Tolleson, and J.B. Nippert. 2013. Precipitation timing and grazer performance in a tallgrass prairie. Oikos 122: 191-198.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Craine, J.M., T.W. Ocheltree, J.B. Nippert, E.G. Towne, A.M. Skibbe, S.W. Kembel, and J.E. Fargione. 2013. Global diversity of drought tolerance and grassland climate-change resilience. Nature Climate Change 3: 63-67
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Ding, Y., Y. Yamashita, W.K. Dodds, and R. Jaffe. 2013. Dissolved black carbon in grassland streams: Is there an effect of recent fire history?. Chemosphere 90: 2557-2562.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Fraser, L.H., H.A. Henry, C.N. Carlyle, S.R. White, C. Beierkuhnlein, J.F. Cahill Jr., B.B. Casper, E. Cleland, S.L Collins, J.S. Dukes, A.K. Knapp, E. Lind, R. Long, Y. Luo, P.B. Reich, M.D. Smith, M. Sternberg, R. Turkington. 2013. Coordinated Distributed Experiments: an emerging tool for testing global hypotheses in ecology and environmental science. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 11: 147-155.


Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS) studies continued to investigate the impacts of environmental change (altered regional climate, nutrient enrichment, changing land-use and land cover patterns, altered land management, and exotic species invasions) on regional rangelands, and aspects of the biodiversity in managed grassland ecosystems. To increase our understanding of the spatio-temporal dynamics of fire-grazing interactions, we initiated a new patch-burn grazing experiment during 2010 and in 2011. This entails modifying our former watershed-level experimental design to include two new, large replicate grazing units, each encompassing a mosaic of three individual watershed units (patches) subject to asynchronous prescribed fire and variable fire histories. The first phase of this project was initiated in summer of 2010. We began the second phase of the project in 2011, in the second three-watershed unit (Shane Creek Units). Seasonal grazing at moderate stocking rates (5 months/y stocked at 25 ha/ cow-calf animal unit) is applied to each 3-watershed area. A treatment employing traditional annual burning and season-long grazing characteristic for the Flint Hills grasslands in Kansas provides for a control comparison for each area. In addition, comparisons with ungrazed watersheds subjected to annual burns provide a second control for understanding the effects of fire-grazing interactions. In the last century, woody vegetation has expanded in grasslands worldwide. In the Flint Hills of northeastern Kansas, USA, the shrub Corus drummondii has expanded into the tallgrass prairie despite the maintenance of antecedent fire frequencies. To better understand dynamics and drivers of woody encroachment in tallgrass prairie, we established transects spanning the shrub - grass ecotone. Our results showed source water partitioning between C. drummondii and the C4 grass Andropogon gerardii, with C. drummondii relying upon intra-annually stable soil water below 30 cm depth. Early summer canopy development reduced light availability at the ecotone, a response that favors woody vegetation over C4 grasses. Both top-down and bottom-up effects can influence plant community structure. Theory predicts that these factors may interact in complex and interesting ways. However, little work has been done to develop empirical evidence for these indirect interactions. The Nutrient Network (NutNet) was established specifically to examine the relative importance of multiple resource limitation and bottom-up versus top-down controls of herbaceous-dominated systems. Replicate plots have been established at more than 50 sites (including one at Konza) around the world in a randomized block design (n=3 blocks) with a total of 10 treatment combinations per block (control, N, P, K, NP, NK, PK, NPK, caged control, caged NPK). The nutrient addition treatments involve the addition of a relatively high level of N, P, or K plus micronutrients to ensure alleviation of nutrient limitation. The herbivore removal (caged) treatment excludes vertebrate herbivores from the plots, but does not prevent access by invertebrate herbivores. PARTICIPANTS: John M. Briggs; Prof. Biol. and Director of KPBS; Plant Ecology especially the role of fire and grazing in grasslands; The expansion of woody vegetation into grasslands; Landscape Ecology; Influence of humans on ecosystems; The use of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems in Ecosystem Research. John M. Blair; University Distinguished Prof.; Edwin G. Brychta Prof. Biol.; Lead-PI of Konza LTER; Ecosystem ecology and terrestrial biogeochemistry; Grasslands and global change; Soil ecology, including decomposition, soil nutrient cycling, litter/soil/plant nutrient dynamics; Effects of climate change and other disturbances on ecosystem processes; Restoration ecology; Ecology of soil invertebrates. Alice Boyle. Assistant Professor; Behavioral, evolutionary, & physiological ecology; Basic and applied Ornithology; life history and migration Walter K. Dodds; University Distinguished Prof. Biol.; Aquatic Ecology; water quality. Kieth B. Gido; Assoc. Prof. Biol.; Fish Ecology, Invasive species effects, Fish Assemblage Structure. David C. Hartnett; University Distinguished Prof.; Prof. Biol.; Plant Population Biology; Plant-animal Interactions; Ecology of Grasslands and Savannas, Ecology of African Savanna Grasses; Mycorrhizal Symbiosis. Jill Haukos; Konza Environmental Educator Eva A. Horne; Assistant Prof.; Assistant Director KPBS. Agonistic and anti-predator behavior of reptiles and amphibians, response of reptile and amphibian populations to unpredictable environmental occurrences. Anthony Joern; University Distinguished Prof. Biol.; Insect community ecology; insect/plant interactions; grassland ecology. Donald W. Kaufman; Prof. Biol.; Population biology of mammals; community ecology of small mammals; nongame wildlife ecology; prairie ecology; conservation biology. Glennis A. Kaufman; Research Assist. Prof.; Small mammal population and community ecology, behavior, prairie ecology, conservation. Jessie B. Nippert; Assist. Prof. Biol.; Tallgrass prairie plant eco-physiology; Eco-hydrology; Stable isotope ecology; Plant responses to climate change Brett K. Sandercock; Assoc. Prof. Biol.; Co-PI of REU program; Behavioral ecology; demography; evolutionary ecology; mark-recapture statistics; matrix methods; ornithology; population biology. TARGET AUDIENCES: Our activities on KPBS benefit a wide range of individuals. This includes scientists across the world using the results from our research in helping understand prairie ecosystems. In addition, local ranchers are helped by our activities in understanding how grazing impact grasslands. Finally, through our extensive education programs K-12, undergraduates and graduate students are impacted by our program. Efforts: The KPBS hosted numerous meetings and conferences. Some of them included the KS. Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, the Board meeting of the Kansas Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, Grassland Ecologists from The Nature Conservancy, the annual workshop of the Konza Prairie Long Term Ecological Program and undergraduate students from the Haskell Environmental Research Studies Institute. In addition, the biennial Visitor's Day was held September 29th and over 1,500 individuals attended this event. During all of these occasions, the results of the long-term experiments and resulting research results at KPBS are shared with a wide range of individuals. A new education director (Jill Haukos) was hired this year. She leads the Konza Environmental Education Program (KEEP). KEEP has a two-fold mission of increasing appreciation and understanding of natural ecosystems and of the process and value of science among K-12 students and the public. With continued support from the School Yard LTER program (SLTER) in 2012, we involved ~1000 additional students in activities at Konza. Data collected from SLTER activities will continue to be incorporated into SLTER databases. In this way, individual class data can be accessed along with the long-term databases through the Internet and manipulated in the classroom to give students a better understanding of the process of science and the value of long-term ecological information. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
KPBS long-term "season-of-fire" experiments continue to have added significance in recent years, as questions about the impact of regional grassland burning and EPA regulations regarding air quality and have focused on the ecological importance of burning. Our data suggests that management-related burning could be spread out in time without adverse effects on grassland productivity or species composition, and will a lessen impact on spring air quality in major metropolitan areas. Findings from the season of fire project have been published in applied ecology journals presented at various management-related meetings and continue to grow in importance as the issue of managing fire and smoke in the Midwest grows. In 2012, the first synthetic review of how soil ecological knowledge can be applied to restore ecosystem services, led by S. Baer, was published in Soil Ecology and Ecosystem Services (D. Wall, editor). This peer-reviewed book chapter summarizes ecosystem services (and functions) promoted through ecological restoration in general, provides a conceptual framework of the relationship between soil legacy and ecosystem function in the context of restoration, and organizes knowledge and manipulation of soil properties and processes applied to improve ecosystem functions and services during restoration. A long-term climate manipulation experiment on Konza is the Irrigation Transect Experiment. A recent analysis of 19-years of plant community and plant productivity responses to supplemental water addition in this experiment is the basis for a manuscript that was featured as a "Spotlight" manuscript in an issue of Functional Ecology. Collins et al (2012) found, surprisingly, that community structure changed very little during 19 years of supplemental water additions to alleviate soil water stress. Any changes in species diversity and community structure that were detected varied from year to year and were inconsistent with the treatment effects over time. Thus, despite complete removal of growing season water limitation for almost two decades, the tall, perennial C4 grasses maintained dominance in this system. This resistance to chronic water addition was surprising given that ecosystem structure and function across central US grasslands is widely accepted to be driven by precipitation amount, and at Konza Prairie aboveground productivity has been shown to be water limited 75% of the time. However, despite the overall lack of change in plant community structure, Collins et al. (2012) did highlight a change in relative abundance of one C4 tallgrass species (Panicum virgatum). This grass species was always present but was less abundant than the dominant C4 grass, Andropogon gerardii, in the community for the first 10 years of the experiment. However, P. virgatum became dominant after a decade of water additions and remained so for the next nine years. The results in Collins et al. (2012) also demonstrate that even relatively simple, single factor experiments can be valuable for testing global change theory, particularly if they are long-term.

Publications

  • Collins, S.L. and L.B. Calabrese. 2012. Effects of fire, grazing and topographic variation on vegetation structure in tallgrass prairie. Journal of Vegetation Science 23: 563-575.
  • Collins, S.L., S.E. Koerner, J.A. Plaut, J.G. Okie, D. Brese, L.B. Calabrese, A. Carvajal, R.J. Evanse, and E. Nonaka. 2012. Stability of tallgrass prairie during a 19-year increase in growing season precipitation. Functional Ecology 26: 1450-1459.
  • Craine, J.M., B.M.J. Engelbrecht, C.H. Lusk, N.G. McDowell, and H. Poorter. 2012. Resource limitation, tolerance, and the future of ecological plant classification. Frontiers in Plant Science 3: 246-.
  • Ott, J.P. and D.C. Hartnett. 2012. Higher-order bud production increases tillering capacity in the perennial caespitose grass Scribner's Panicum (Dichanthelium oligosanthes). Botany 90: 884-890.
  • Petrie, M.D. and N.A. Brunsell. 2012. The role of precipitation variability on the ecohydrology of grasslands. Ecohydrology 5: 337-345.
  • An, N., K.P. Price, and J.M. Blair. 2013. Estimating aboveground net primary productivity of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem of the Central Great Plains using AVHRR NDVI. International Journal of Remote Sensing. In press.
  • Avolio, M., J. Beaulieu, and M.D. Smith. 2013. Genetic diversity of a dominant C4 grass is altered with increased precipitation variability. Oecologia. In press.
  • Craine J.M., N. Fierer, K.K. McLauchlan, and A. Elmore. 2013. Reduction of the temperature sensitivity of soil organic matter decomposition with sustained temperature increase. Biogeochemistry. In press.
  • Craine, J.M., E.G. Towne, D. Tolleson, and J.B. Nippert. 2013. Precipitation timing and grazer performance in a tallgrass prairie. Oikos. In press.
  • Craine, J.M., T.W. Ocheltree, J.B. Nippert, E.G. Towne, A.M. Skibbe, S.W. Kembel, and J.E. Fargione. 2013. Global diversity of drought tolerance and grassland climate-change resilience. Nature Climate Change. In press.
  • Fernandez, J.M., C. Peltre, J.M. Craine, and A.F. Plante. 2013. Improved Characterization of Soil Organic Matter by Thermal Analysis Using CO(2)/H(2)O Evolved Gas Analysis. Environmental Science & Technology. In press.
  • Joern, A. and A. Laws. 2013. Ecological mechanisms underlying arthropod species diversity in grasslands. Annual Review of Entomology. In press.
  • Kaufman, G.A., D.M. Kaufman, and D.W. Kaufman. 2013. Hispid pocket mice in tallgrass prairie: abundance, seasonal activity, habitat association, and individual attributes. Western North American Naturalist. In press.
  • McNew, L.B., A.J. Gregory, and B.K. Sandercock. 2013. Spatial heterogeneity in habitat selection: nest site selection by Greater Prairie-Chickens. Journal of Wildlife Management. In press.
  • Reisinger, A.J., J.M. Blair, C.W. Rice, and W.K. Dodds. 2013. Woody vegetation removal stimulates riparian and benthic denitrification in tallgrass prairie. Ecosystems. In press.
  • Ungerer M.C., Heatherington C.A., Joern A, Towne E.G., Briggs J.M. 2013. Genetic variation and mating success in managed American plains bison. Journal of Heredity. In press.
  • Avolio, M.L., J. Beaulieu, E. Lo, and M.D. Smith. 2012. Measuring genetic diversity in ecological studies. Plant Ecology 213: 1105-1115.
  • Bach, E.M., S.G. Baer, and J. Six. 2012. Plant and soil responses to high and low diversity grassland restoration practices. Environmental Management 49: 412-424.
  • Carter, D., B. VanderWeide, and J.M. Blair. 2012. Drought-mediated stem and belowground bud dynamics in restored grasslands. Applied Vegetation Science 15: 470-478.
  • Carter, D.L. and J.M. Blair. 2012. Recovery of native plant community characteristics on a chronosequence of restored prairies seeded into pastures in West-Central Iowa. Restoration Ecology 20: 170-179.
  • Carter, D.L. and J.M. Blair. 2012. High richness and dense seeding enhance grassland restoration establishment, but have little effect on drought response. Ecological Applications 22: 1308-1319.
  • Carter, D.L. and J.M. Blair. 2012. Seed source affects establishment and survival for three grassland species sown into reciprocal common gardens. Ecosphere 3:11, art102.
  • Chang, C.C. and M.D. Smith. 2012. Invasion of an intact plant community: the role of population vs. community level diversity. Oecologia 168: 1091-1102.
  • Craine, J.M., E.G. Towne, T.W. Ocheltree, and J.B. Nippert. 2012. Community traitscape of foliar nitrogen isotopes reveals N availabiity patterns in a tallgrass prairie. Plant and Soil 356: 395-403.
  • Craine, J.M., E.M. Wolkovich, and E.G. Towne. 2012. The roles of shifting and filtering in generating community-level flowering phenology. Ecography 35: 1033-1038.
  • Craine, J.M., E.M. Wolkovich, E.G. Towne, and S.W. Kembel. 2012. Flowering phenology as a functional trait in a tallgrass prairie. New Phytologist 193: 673-682.
  • Craine, J.M., J.B. Nippert, A.J. Elmore, A.M. Skibbe, S.L. Hutchinson, and N.A. Brunsell. 2012. The timing of climate variability and grassland productivity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 109: 3401-3405.
  • Dodds, W.K., C.T. Robinson, E.E. Gaiser, G.J.A. Hansen, H. Powell, J.M. Smith, N.B. Morse, S.L. Johnson, S.V. Gregory, T. Bell, T.K. Kratz, and W.H. McDowell. 2012. Surprises and insights from long-term aquatic datasets and experiments. BioScience 62: 709-721.
  • Gibson, D.J., A.J. Alstadt, S.G. Baer, and M. Geisler. 2012. Effects of foundation species genotypic diversity on subordinate species richness in an assembling community. Oikos 121: 496-507.
  • Gough, L., K.L. Gross, E.E. Cleland, C.M. Clark, S.L. Collins, J.E. Fargione, S.C. Pennings, and K.N. Suding. 2012. Incorporating clonal growth form clarifies the role of plant height in response to nitrogen addition. Oecologia 169: 1053-1062.
  • Hamel, S., J.M. Craine, and E.G. Towne. 2012. Maternal allocation and offspring characteristics in Bison. Ecological Applications 22: 1628-1639.
  • Hartman J.C. and J.B. Nippert. 2012. Physiological and growth responses of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) in native stands under passive air temperature manipulation. Global Change Biology-Bioenergy : doi: 10.1111/j.1757-1707.2012.01204.x
  • Hartman, J.C., J.B. Nippert, and C.J. Springer. 2012. Ecotypic responses of switchgrass to altered precipitation. Functional Plant Biology 39: 126-136.
  • Hsu, J.S., J. Powell, and P.B. Adler. 2012. Sensitivity of mean annual primary production to precipitation. Global Change Biology 18: 2246-2255.
  • Mandyam, K., C. Fox, and A. Jumpponen. 2012. Septate endophyte colonization and host responses of grasses and forbs native to a tallgrass prairie. Mycorrhiza 22: 109-119.
  • McNew, L.B., A.J. Gregory, S.M. Wisely, and B.K. Sandercock. 2012. Demography of Greater Prairie-Chickens: regional variation in vital rates, sensitivity values, and population dynamics. Journal of Wildlife Management 76: 987-1000.
  • Moyano, F., N. Vasilyeva, L. Bouckaert, F. Cook, J. Craine, J. Curiel-Yuste, A. Don, D. Epron, P. Formanek, A. Franzluebbers, U. Ilstedt, T. Katterer, V. Orchard, M. Reichstein, A. Rey, L. Ruamps, J.-A. Subke, I. Thomsen, and C. Chenu. 2012. The moisture response of soil heterotrophic respiration: interaction with soil properties. Biogeosciences 9: 1173-1182.
  • Nepal, M.P. and C.J. Ferguson. 2012. Phylogenetics of Morus (Moraceae) inferred from ITS and trnL-trnF sequence data. Systematic Botany 37: 442-450.
  • Nippert, J.B., R.A. Wieme, T.W. Ocheltree, and J.M Craine. 2012. Root characteristics of C-4 grasses limit reliance on deep soil water in tallgrass prairie. Plant and Soil 355: 385-394.
  • Jaeckle, W.B., M. Kiefer, B. Childs, R.G. Harper, J.W. Rivers, and B.D. Peer. 2012. Comparison of eggshell porosity and estimated gas flux between the brown-headed cowbird and two common hosts. Journal of Avian Biology 43: 486-490.
  • Jaffe, R., Y. Yamashita, N. Maie, W.T. Cooper, T. Dittmar, W.K. Dodds, J.B. Jones, T. Myoshi, J.R. Ortiz-Zayas, D.C. Podgorski, and A. Watanabe. 2012. Dissolved organic matter in headwater streams: compositional variability across climatic regions of North America. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 94: 95-108.
  • Kaufman, G.A., R.S. Matlack, D.W. Kaufman, and J.J. Higgins. 2012. Multiple factors limit use of local sites by Elliot's short-tailed shrews (Blarina hylophaga) in tallgrass prairie. Canadian Journal of Zoology 90: 210-221.
  • Knapp, A.K., D.L. Hoover, J.M. Blair, G. Buis, D.E. Burkepile, A. Chamberlain , S.L. Collins, R.W.S. Fynn, K.P. Kirkman, M.D. Smith, D. Blake, N. Govender , P. O'Neal, T. Schreck, and A. Zinn. 2012. A test of two mechanisms proposed to optimize grassland aboveground primary productivity in response to grazing. Journal of Plant Ecology 5: 357-365.
  • Knapp, A.K., J.M. Briggs, and M.D. Smith. 2012. Community stability does not preclude ecosystem sensitivity to chronic resource alteration. Functional Ecology 26: 1231-1233.
  • Knapp, A.K., M.D. Smith, S.E. Hobbie, S.L. Collins, T.J. Fahey, G.J.A. Hansen, D.A. Landis, K.J. La Pierre, J.M. Melillo, T.R. Seastedt, G.R. Shaver, and J.R. Webster. 2012. Past, present, and future roles of long-term experiments in the LTER Network. Bioscience 62: 377-389.
  • Laws, A. and A. Joern. 2012. Variable effects of dipteran parasitoids and management treatment on grasshopper fecundity in a tallgrass prairie. Bulletin of Entomological Research 102: 123-130.
  • Ocheltree, T.W., J.B. Nippert, and P.V.V. Prasad. 2012. Changes in stomatal conductance along grass blades reflect changes in leaf structure. Plant Cell and Environment 35: 1040-1049.
  • Ott, J.P. and D.C. Hartnett. 2012. Contrasting bud bank dynamics of two co-occurring grasses in tallgrass prairie: implications for grassland dynamics. Plant Ecology 213: 1437-1448.
  • Petrie, M.D., N.A. Brunsell, and J.B. Nippert. 2012. Climate change alters growing season flux dynamics in mesic grasslands. Theoretical and Applied Climatology 107: 427-440.
  • Ramirez, K.S., J.M. Craine, and N. Fierer. 2012. Consistent effects of nitrogen amendments on soil microbial communities and processes across biomes. Global Change Biology 18: 1918-1927.
  • Ratajczak, Z. and J.B. Nippert. 2012. Comment on "Global Resilience of Tropical Forest and Savanna to Critical Transitions". Science 336: 541-.
  • Ratajczak, Z., J.B. Nippert, and S.L. Collins. 2012. Woody encroachment decreases diversity across North American grasslands and savannas. Ecology 93: 697-703.
  • Reinhart, K.O., G.W.T. Wilson, and M.J. Rinella. 2012. Predicting plant responses to mycorrhizae: integrating evolutionary history and plant traits. Ecology Letters 15: 689-695.
  • Riley, A.J. and W.K. Dodds. 2012. The expansion of woody riparian vegetation, and subsequent stream restoration, influences the metabolism of prairie streams. Freshwater Biology 57: 1138-1150.
  • Rivers, J.W., S. Young, E.G. Gonzalez, B. Horton, J. Lock, and R.C. Fleischer. 2012. High levels of relatedness between Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) nestmates in a heavily parasitized host community. The Auk 129: 623-631.
  • Robertson, G.P., S.L. Collins, D.R. Foster, N. Brokaw, H.W. Ducklow, T.L. Gragson, C. Gries, S.K. Hamilton, A.D. McGuire, J.C. Moore, E.H. Stanley, R.B. Waide, and M.W. Williams. 2012. Long-term ecological research in a human-dominated world. BioScience 62: 342-353.
  • Tiemann, L.K. and S.A. Billings. 2012. Tracking C and N flows through microbial biomass with increased soil moisture variability. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 49: 11-22.
  • Tsypin, M. and G.L. Macpherson. 2012. The effect of precipitation events on inorganic carbon in soil and shallow groundwater, Konza Prairie LTER Site, NE Kansas, USA. Applied Geochemistry 27: 2356-2369.
  • Wheeler, D., B.J. Darby, T.C. Todd, and M.A. Herman. 2012. Several grassland soil nematodes species are insensitive to RNA-mediated interference. Journal of Nematology 44: 92-101.
  • Wilson, G.W.T., K.R. Hickman, and M.M. Williamson. 2012. Invasive warm-season grasses reduce mycorrhizal root colonization and biomass production of native prairie grasses. Mycorrhiza 22: 327-336.
  • Woods, T.M., J.L. Jonas, and C.J. Ferguson. 2012. The invasive Lespedeza cuneata attracts more insect pollinators than native congeners in tallgrass prairie with variable impacts. Biological Invasions 14: 1045-1059.
  • Baer, S.G., L. Heneghan, and V. Eviner. 2012. Applying soil ecological knowledge to restore ecosystem services. Page -. In D. Wall (eds.) Soil Ecology and Ecosystem Services. Oxford University Press.
  • Behmer, S.T. and A. Joern. 2012. Insect herbivore outbreaks views through a physiological framework: insights from Orthoptera. Page -. In P. Barbosa, D. Letourneau, and A. Agrawaal (eds.) Insect Outbreaks Revisited. Academic Press, San Diego.
  • Miller, R.M., G.W.T. Wilson, and N.C. Johnson. 2012. Arbuscular Mycorrhizas and Grassland Ecosystems . Page 59-85. In D. Southwood (eds.) Biocomplexity of Plant-Fungal Interactions. Wiley-Blackwell. Oxford, UK.
  • Avolio, M.L. 2012. Genetic diversity of Andropogon gerardii: Impacts of altered precipitation patterns on a dominant species. PhD Dissertation, Yale University. New Haven, CT. 258 pp.
  • Chang, C.C. 2012. Dimensions of diversity and their direct and indirect effects on tallgrass prairie ecosystem functioning. PhD Dissertation, Yale University. New Haven, CT. 165 pp.
  • Goad, R.K. 2012. Response of regional sources of tallgrass prairie species to variation in climate and soil microbial communities. MS Thesis, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Killian, P.D. 2012. Mechanisms driving woody encroachment in the tallgrass prairie: an analysis of fire behavior and physiological integration. MS Thesis, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. 72 pp.
  • Nukala, L.A. 2012. An iPhone application of Konza Prairie LTER. MS Report, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. 47 pp.
  • Ocheltree, T.W. 2012. Growth and survival during drought: The link between hydraulic architecture and drought tolerance in grasses. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. 1117 pp.
  • Olstad, T.A. 2012. Zen of the Plains: discovering space, place, and self. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. 276 pp.
  • Sousa, B.F. 2012. Ecology of mating patterns and sexual selection in dickcissels breeding in managed prairie. PhD Dissertation, University of Kentucky. Lexington, KY. 166 pp.


Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS) studies continued to investigate the impacts of environmental change (altered regional climate, nutrient enrichment, changing land-use & land cover patterns, altered land management, & exotic species invasions) on regional rangelands,& aspects of the biodiversity in managed grassland ecosystems. To increase our understanding of the spatio-temporal dynamics of fire-grazing interactions, we initiated a new patch-burn grazing experiment during 2010 and in 2011. This entails modifying our former watershed-level experimental design to include 2 new, large replicate grazing units, each encompassing a mosaic of 3 individual watershed units (patches) subject to asynchronous prescribed fire & variable fire histories. Konza scientists held numerous planning meetings with scientists from Animal Sciences at KSU, and representatives from The Nature Conservancy (there is great interest in the potential use of patch-burning grazing to promote conservation in areas managed for cattle production). The first phase of this project was initiated in summer of 2010. We began the second phase of the project in 2011, in the second three-watershed unit (Shane Creek Units). Seasonal grazing at moderate stocking rates (5 months/y stocked at 25 ha/ cow-calf animal unit) is applied to each 3-watershed area. A treatment employing traditional annual burning and season-long grazing characteristic for the Flint Hills grasslands in Kansas provides for a control comparison for each area. In addition, comparisons with ungrazed watersheds subjected to annual burns provide a second control for understanding the effects of fire-grazing interactions. In June 2011, Samantha Wisely and students initiated a study of the responses of small mammals to patch-burn grazing, with an emphasis on deer mouse demography. Small mammal communities were sampled with replicated trapping grids, utilizing standard techniques to examine responses of the small mammal community as a whole to this new range management technique. Additionally, we will employ artificial burrows, mark re-capture methods, and molecular techniques to gain a detailed understanding of deer mouse demography in rangeland communities in the northern Flint Hills. In addition to small mammal sampling, we will quantify any vegetative responses to patch-burn grazing with the standard habitat metrics of visual obstruction readings and percent cover of different cover classes such as forbs, grasses, litter, etc. We continued work on the whole-watershed riparian vegetation removal project. We finished preliminary (pre) sampling of sediments, algae, stream invertebrates, and riparian spiders for a more extensive (entire watershed) removal. Ph.D. students are leading the in-stream and riparian invertebrate responses component of this study. We also completed baseline sampling of geomorphology, oxygen dynamics, riparian sediments, and vegetation transects. Pre sampling ended in Winter 2011 and post-manipulation sampling is now underway. PARTICIPANTS: John M. Briggs; Prof. Biol. and Director of KPBS; Plant Ecology especially the role of fire and grazing in grasslands; The expansion of woody vegetation into grasslands; Landscape Ecology; Influence of humans on ecosystems; The use of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems in Ecosystem Research. John M. Blair; University Distinguished Prof.; Edwin G. Brychta Prof. Biol.; Lead-PI of Konza LTER; Ecosystem ecology and terrestrial biogeochemistry; Grasslands and global change; Soil ecology, including decomposition, soil nutrient cycling, litter/soil/plant nutrient dynamics; Effects of climate change and other disturbances on ecosystem processes; Restoration ecology; Ecology of soil invertebrates. Walter K. Dodds; University Distinguished Prof. Biol.; Aquatic Ecology; water quality. Keith B. Gido; Assoc. Prof. Biol.; Fish Ecology, Invasive species effects, Fish Assemblage Structure. David C. Hartnett; University Distinguished Prof.; Prof. Biol.; Plant Population Biology; Plant-animal Interactions; Ecology of Grasslands and Savannas, Ecology of African Savanna Grasses; Mycorrhizal Symbiosis. Eva A. Horne; Assistant Prof.; Assistant Director KPBS. Agonistic and anti-predator behavior of reptiles and amphibians, response of reptile and amphibian populations to unpredictable environmental occurrences. Anthony Joern; University Distinguished Prof. Biol.; Insect community ecology; insect/plant interactions; grassland ecology. Donald W. Kaufman; Prof. Biol.; Population biology of mammals; community ecology of small mammals; nongame wildlife ecology; prairie ecology; conservation biology. Glennis A. Kaufman; Research Assist. Prof.; Small mammal population and community ecology, behavior, prairie ecology, conservation. Jessie B. Nippert; Assist. Prof. Biol.; Tallgrass prairie plant eco-physiology; Eco-hydrology; Stable isotope ecology; Plant responses to climate change Brett K. Sandercock; Assoc. Prof. Biol.; Co-PI of REU program; Behavioral ecology; demography; evolutionary ecology; mark-recapture statistics; matrix methods; ornithology; population biology. Samantha Wisley; Assoc. Prof. Biol.; use of genetic, morphometric and field techniques to answer multidisciplinary questions about the ecology, biogeography and population biology of carnivores. Valerie Wright; Konza Environmental Educator TARGET AUDIENCES: Our activities on KPBS benefit a wide range of individuals. This includes scientists across the world using the results from our research in helping understand prairie ecosystems. In addition, local ranchers are helped by our activities in understanding how grazing impact grasslands. Finally, through our extensive education programs K-12, undergraduates and graduate students are impacted by our program. Efforts: The KPBS hosted numerous meetings and conferences in its newly renovated Konza Prairie Meeting Hall. Some of them included the annual meeting of the Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife, the Board meeting of the Kansas Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, the annual workshop of the Konza Prairie Long Term Ecological Program and undergraduate students from the Haskell Environmental Research Studies Institute. In addition, the KPBS hosted the International Symposium, "Grasslands in a Global Context, An Anniversary Symposium Celebrating the Konza Prairie Biological Station and LTER Program". During all of these occasions, the results of the long-term experiments and resulting research results at KPBS are shared with a wide range of individuals. The Konza Prairie Research Experience for Undergraduates Program is coordinated by KPBS, and by faculty and staff in the Division of Biology at Kansas State University. The program has been offered annually since 1995, and runs for 10 weeks each summer. In the summer of 2011, 14 students from 10 different universities (non-KSU) participated in the program. An education director (Dr. Valerie Wright) leads the Konza Environmental Education Program (KEEP). KEEP has a two-fold mission of increasing appreciation and understanding of natural ecosystems and of the process and value of science among K-12 students and the public. With continued support from the School Yard LTER program (SLTER) in 2011, we involved ~1000 additional students in activities at Konza, with a number similar to 2010 from around the state participating in PAK activities. Data collected from SLTER activities will continue to be incorporated into SLTER databases. In this way, individual class data can be accessed along with the long-term databases through the Internet and manipulated in the classroom to give students a better understanding of the process of science and the value of long-term ecological information. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Native ungulates were an important driver of ecological processes in tallgrass prairie & bison were reintroduced to Konza Prairie between 1987-1992. The bison herd is maintained in 10 watersheds covering 1,012 hectares & stocked at rate to remove approximately 25% of ANPP. In 2011 we continued studies of bison grazing based on collars fitted with GPS units to quantify spatial & temporal movement patterns of the bison herd. These data allowed us to document landscape-level patterns of activity & to recognize gradients of potential grazing impact within & among watersheds, including interactions with different fire frequency treatments over the long term. The long-term fire & grazing treatments maintained by the Konza Prairie LTER program also contribute to the goals of a NSF-funded project to assess the generality of ecological responses to fire & grazing in North American (Konza Prairie) & South African (Kruger National Park & the Univ. of KwaZulu-Natal's Ukulinga research site) grasslands. Activities at Konza Prairie in 2010-11 included monitoring spatial & temporal patterns of grazer utilization of plots subjected to annual burning, 4-year fire return intervals & long-term fire suppression, as well as assessing patterns of ANPP & changes in plant community composition in plots subject to grazing or from which grazers are excluded. We are currently analyzing data from moveable exclosures collected over the last 2 years to assess potential effects of grazing on ANPP at the study sites. A regional flow model that includes the Konza LTER site shows the recharge & discharge areas & the involvement of streams in groundwater. Data analysis shows a short but measureable lag time between chemical & isotopic parameters measured in the soil & those in shallow groundwater, including supporting evidence for downward flux of soil CO2 to groundwater which is significant in light of the long-term increase in groundwater CO2 documented at Konza. Preliminary data from the rapid-snowmelt-event project shows levels of nitrate & potassium (macronutrients) in throughflow during the 2 sampled RSE's to be significantly higher than has ever been measured in groundwater or streamwater at Konza, suggesting the RSE's rob the soil of these nutrients. Micronutrients (B, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mo) in RSE throughflow water are also detectable, but comparisons can't yet be made with groundwater & surface water chemistry because these elements have not been measured. KPBS long-term season-of-fire experiments continue to have added significance in recent years, about the impact of regional grassland burning & EPA regulations regarding air quality & have focused on the ecological importance of burning. Our data suggests that management-related burning could be spread out in time without adverse effects on grassland productivity or species composition & will lessen impact on spring air quality in major metropolitan areas. Findings from the season of fire project have been published in applied ecology journals presented at various management-related meetings.

Publications

  • Cleland, E.E., C.M. Clark, S.L. Collins, J.E. Fargione, L. Gough, K.L. Gross, S.C. Pennings, and K.N. Suding. 2011. Native and exotic species have different suites of traits: Evidence from a synthesis of nitrogen fertilization experiments. Journal of Ecology 99: 1327-1338.
  • Cordova, C.E., W.C. Johnson, R.D. Mandel, and M.W. Palmer. 2011. Late Quaternary environmental change inferred from phytoliths and other soil-related proxies: case studies from the central and southern Great Plains. Catena 85: 87-108.
  • Rouse, M.N., A.A. Saleh, A. Seck, K.H. Keeler, S.E. Travers, S.H. Hulbert, and K.A. Garrett. 2011. Genomic and resistance gene homolog diversity of the dominant tallgrass prairie species across the U.S. Great Plains precipitation gradient. PLoS ONE 6:e17641: -.
  • Gregory, A.J. 2011. The influence of behavioral and landscape ecology on Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) genetic structure and evolution. PhD, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. 129 pp
  • Hartman, J. 2011. Responses of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) to precipitation amount and temperature. MS Thesis, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Mohler, R. 2011. Multi-scale burned area mapping in tallgrass prairie using in situ spectrometry and satellite imagery. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Riley, A.J. 2011. Effects of riparian woody vegetation encroachment on prairie stream structure and function with emphasis on whole-stream metabolism. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Rostkowski, S.C., Jr. 2011. Long-term effects of climate change on grassland soil systems: A reciprocal transplant approach. MS Thesis, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. 80 pp.
  • Tiemann, L. 2011. Soil microbial community carbon and nitrogen dynamics with altered precipitation regimes and substrate availability. PhD Dissertation, University of Kansas. Lawrence, KS.
  • Gregory, A.J. 2011. The influence of behavioral and landscape ecology on Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) genetic structure and evolution. PhD, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. 129 pp
  • Hartman, J. 2011. Responses of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) to precipitation amount and temperature. MS Thesis, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Mohler, R. 2011. Multi-scale burned area mapping in tallgrass prairie using in situ spectrometry and satellite imagery. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Riley, A.J. 2011. Effects of riparian woody vegetation encroachment on prairie stream structure and function with emphasis on whole-stream metabolism. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Rostkowski, S.C., Jr. 2011. Long-term effects of climate change on grassland soil systems: A reciprocal transplant approach. MS Thesis, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. 80 pp.
  • Tiemann, L. 2011. Soil microbial community carbon and nitrogen dynamics with altered precipitation regimes and substrate availability. PhD Dissertation, University of Kansas. Lawrence, KS.
  • Augustine, J.K., J.J. Millspaugh, and B.K. Sandercock. 2011. Testosterone mediates mating success in Greater Prairie-Chickens. Studies in Avian Biology 39: 195-208.
  • Adler, P.B., E.W. Seabloom, E.T. Borer, and others. 2011. Productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness. Science 333: 1750-1753.
  • Augustine, J.K. and B.K. Sandercock. 2011. Demography of female Greater Prairie-Chickens in unfragmented grasslands in Kansas. Avian Conservation and Ecology-Ecologie et Conservation des Oiseaux 6:-.
  • Avolio, M.L., C.C. Chang, and M.D. Smith. 2011. Assessing fine-scale genotypic structure of a dominant species in native grasslands. The American Midland Naturalist 165: 211-224.
  • Barger, N.N., S.R. Archer, J.L. Campbell, C. Huang, J.A. Morton, and A.K. Knapp. 2011. Woody plant proliferation in North American drylands: A synthesis of impacts on ecosystem carbon balance. Journal of Geophysical Research 116: -.
  • Beaulieu, J.K., J.L. Tank, S.K. Hamilton, W.M. Wollheim, R.O. Hall Jr., P.J. Mulholland, B.J. Peterson, L.R. Ashkenas, L.W. Cooper, C.N. Dahm, W.K. Dodds, N.B. Grimm, S.L. Johnson, W.H. McDowell, G.C. Poole, H.M. Valett, C.P. Arango, M.J. Bernot, A.J. Burgin, C. Crenshaw, A.M. Helton, L. Johnson, J.M. O'Brien, J.D. Potter, R.W. Sheibley, D.J. Sobota, and S.M. Thomas. 2011. Nitrous oxide emission from denitrification in stream and river networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 108: 214-219.
  • Blevins, E. and K.A. With. 2011. Landscape context matters: local vs. landscape effects on abundance and patch occupancy of collared lizards in managed grasslands. Landscape Ecology 26: 837-850.
  • Chancellor, L.V., T.C. Roth, L.D. LaDage, and V.V. Pravosudov. 2011. The effect of environmental harshness on neurogenesis: a large-scale comparison. Developmental Neurobiology 71: 246-252.
  • Craine, J.M., J.B. Nippert, E.G. Towne, S. Tucker, S.W. Kembel, A. Skibbe, and K.K. McLauchlan. 2011. Functional consequences of climate-change induced plant species loss in a tallgrass prairie. Oecologia 165: 1109-1117.
  • Fay, P.A., J.M. Blair, M.D. Smith, J.B. Nippert, J.D. Carlisle, and A.K. Knapp. 2011. Relative effects of precipitation variability and warming on tallgrass prairie ecosystem function. Biogeosciences 8: 3053-3068.
  • Findlay, S., P. Mulholland, S. Hamilton, J. Tank, M. Bernot, A. Burgin, C. Crenshaw, W. Dodds, N. Grimm, W. McDowell, J. Potter, and D. Sobota. 2011. Cross-stream comparison of substrate-specific denitrification potential. Biogeochemistry 104: 381-392.
  • Firn, J., J.L. Moore, A.S. MacDougall, E.T. Borer, E.W. Seabloom, J. HilleRisLambers, W.S. Harpole, E.E. Cleland, C.S. Brown, J.M.H. Knops, S.M. Prober, D.A. Pyke, K.A. Farrell, J.D. Bakker, L.R. O'Halloran, P.B. Adler, S.L. Collins, C.M. D'Antonio, M.J. Crawley, E.M. Wolkovich, K.J. La Pierre, B.A. Melbourne, Y. Hautier, J.W. Morgan, A.D.B. Leakey, A. Kay, R. McCulley, K. Davies, C.J. Stevens, C.-J. Chu, K.D. Holl, J.A. Klein, P.A. Fay, N. Hagenah, K. P. Kirkman and Y.M. Buckley. 2011. Abundance of introduced species at home predicts abundance away in temperate grasslands. Ecology Letters 14: 274-281.
  • Garrett, K.A., G.A. Forbes, S. Savary, P. Skelsey, A.H. Sparks, C. Valdivia, A.H.C. van Bruggen, L. Willocquet, A. Djurle, E. Duveiller, H. Eckersten, S. Pande, C. Vera Cruz, and J. Yuen. 2011. Complexity in climate change impacts: An analytical framework for effects mediated by plant disease. Plant Pathology 60: 15-30.
  • Gregory, A.J., L.B. McNew, T.J. Prebyl, B.K. Sandercock, and S.M. Wisely. 2011. Hierarchical modeling of lek habitats of Greater Prairie-Chickens. Studies in Avian Biology 39: 21-32.
  • Collins, S.L., S.R. Carpenter, S.M. Swinton, D.E. Orenstein, D.L. Childers, T.L. Gragson, N.B. Grimm, J.M. Grove, S.L. Harlan, J.P. Kaye, A.K. Knapp, G.P. Kofinas, J.J. Magnuson, W.H. McDowell, J.M. Melack, L.A. Ogden, G.R. Robertson, M.D. Smith, A.C. Whitmer. 2011. An integrated conceptual framework for long-term social-ecological research. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 9: 351-357.
  • Helton, A.M., G.C. Poole, J.L. Meyer, W.M. Wollheim, B.J. Peterson, P.J. Mulholland, E.S. Bernhardt, J.A. Stanford, C. Arango, L.R. Ashkenas, L.W. Cooper, W.K. Dodds, S.V. Gregory, R. O'Hall, S.K. Hamilton, S.L. Johnson, W.H. McDowell, J.D. Potter, J.L. Tank, S.M. Thomas, H.M. Valett, J.R. Webster, and L. Zeglin. 2011. Thinking outside the channel: modeling nitrogen cycling in networked river ecosystems. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 9: 229-238.
  • Jumpponen, A.. 2011. Analysis of ribosomal RNA indicates seasonal fungal community dynamics in Andropogon gerardii roots. Mycorrhiza 21: 453-464.
  • Kaufman, D.W. and G.A. Kaufman. 2011. Observation of porcupine in Geary County, Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 114: 142-143.
  • Kaufman, D.W., D.M. Kaufman, and G.A. Kaufman. 2011. Abundance and spatiotemporal distribution of the non-native house mouse in native tallgrass prairie. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 114: 217-230.
  • Kaufman, G.A. and D.W. Kaufman. 2011. The least shrew on Konza Prairie Biological Station, Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 114: 47-58.
  • Kaufman, G.A., D.M. Kaufman, and D.W. Kaufman. 2011. Treated versus new traps: does chronic applications of disinfectant to live traps reduce trappability of rodents Southwestern Naturalist 56: 224-230.
  • Klug, P.E., S.M. Wisely, and K.A. With. 2011. Population genetic structure and landscape connectivity of the Eastern Yellowbelly Racer (Coluber constrictor flaviventris) in the tallgrass prairie of northeastern Kansas, USA. Landscape Ecology 26: 281-294.
  • Kohler, T.J., J.N. Justin, N. Murdock, K.B. Gido, and W.K. Dodds. 2011. Nutrient loading and grazing by the minnow Phoxinus erythrogaster shift periphyton abundance and stoichiometry in experimental streams. Freshwater Biology 56: 1133-1146.
  • McCain, K.N.S., G.W.T. Wilson, and J.M. Blair. 2011. Mycorrhizal suppression alters plant productivity and forb establishment in a grass-dominated prairie restoration. Plant Ecology 212: 1675-1685.
  • McMillan, B.R., K.A. Pfeiffer, and D.W. Kaufman. 2011. Vegetation responses to an animal-generated disturbance (bison wallows) in tallgrass prairie. American Midland Naturalist 165: 60-73.
  • McNew, L.B., A.J. Gregory, S.M. Wisely, and B.K. Sandercock. 2011. Reproductive biology of a southern population of Greater Prairie-Chickens. Studies in Avian Biology 39: 209-221.
  • McNew, L.B., A.J. Gregory, S.M. Wisely, and B.K. Sandercock. 2011. Human-mediated selection on life-history traits of Greater Prairie-Chickens. Studies in Avian Biology 39: 255-266.
  • McNew, L.B., T.J. Prebyl, and B.K. Sandercock. 2011. Effects of rangeland management on the site occupancy dynamics of prairie-chickens in a protected prairie preserve. Journal of Wildlife Management 9999: 1-10.
  • Mora, M.A., B. Brattin, C. Baxter, and J.W. Rivers. 2011. Regional and interspecific variation in Sr, Ca, and Sr/Ca ratios in avian eggshells from the USA. Ecotoxicology 20: 1467-1475.
  • Murdock, J.N., W.K. Dodds, K.B. Gido, and M.R. Whiles. 2011. Dynamic influences of nutrients and grazing fish on periphyton during recovery from flood. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 30: 331-345.
  • Ratajczak, Z., J.B. Nippert, J.C. Hartman, and T.W. Ocheltree. 2011. Positive feedbacks amplify rates of woody encroachment in mesic tallgrass prairie. Ecosphere 2: -.
  • Steward, D.R., X. Yang, S.Y. Lauwo, S.A. Staggenborg, G.L. Macpherson, and S.M. Welch. 2011. From precipitation to groundwater baseflow in a native prairie ecosystem: a regional study of the Konza LTER in the Flint Hills of Kansas, USA. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 15: 3181-3194.
  • Tucker, S.S., J.M. Craine, and J.B. Nippert. 2011. Physiological drought tolerance and the structuring of tallgrass assemblages. Ecosphere 2:48-.
  • Unterseher, M., C.F. Dorman, A. Jumpponen, M. Moora, M. Opik, L. Tedersoo, and M. Schnittler. 2011. Species abundance distributions in fungal metagenomics - lessons learned from community ecology. Molecular Ecology 20: 275-285.
  • Vander Weide, B. and D.C. Hartnett. 2011. Fire resistance of tree species explains gallery forest community composition. Forest Ecology and Management 261: 1530-1538.
  • Gregory, A.J. 2011. The influence of behavioral and landscape ecology on Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) genetic structure and evolution. PhD, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. 129 pp
  • Hartman, J. 2011. Responses of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) to precipitation amount and temperature. MS Thesis, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Mohler, R. 2011. Multi-scale burned area mapping in tallgrass prairie using in situ spectrometry and satellite imagery. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Riley, A.J. 2011. Effects of riparian woody vegetation encroachment on prairie stream structure and function with emphasis on whole-stream metabolism. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Rostkowski, S.C., Jr. 2011. Long-term effects of climate change on grassland soil systems: A reciprocal transplant approach. MS Thesis, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. 80 pp.
  • Tiemann, L. 2011. Soil microbial community carbon and nitrogen dynamics with altered precipitation regimes and substrate availability. PhD Dissertation, University of Kansas. Lawrence, KS.
  • Gregory, A.J. 2011. The influence of behavioral and landscape ecology on Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) genetic structure and evolution. PhD, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. 129 pp
  • Hartman, J. 2011. Responses of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) to precipitation amount and temperature. MS Thesis, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Mohler, R. 2011. Multi-scale burned area mapping in tallgrass prairie using in situ spectrometry and satellite imagery. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Riley, A.J. 2011. Effects of riparian woody vegetation encroachment on prairie stream structure and function with emphasis on whole-stream metabolism. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Rostkowski, S.C., Jr. 2011. Long-term effects of climate change on grassland soil systems: A reciprocal transplant approach. MS Thesis, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. 80 pp.
  • Tiemann, L. 2011. Soil microbial community carbon and nitrogen dynamics with altered precipitation regimes and substrate availability. PhD Dissertation, University of Kansas. Lawrence, KS.


Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS) studies continued to investigate the impacts of environmental change (altered regional climate, nutrient enrichment, changing land-use and land cover patterns, altered land management, and exotic species invasions) on regional rangelands, and aspects of the biodiversity in managed grassland ecosystems. To increase our understanding of the spatio-temporal dynamics of fire-grazing interactions, we initiated a new patch-burn grazing experiment during 2010. This entails modifying our former watershed-level experimental design to include two new, large replicate grazing units, each encompassing a mosaic of three individual watershed units (patches) subject to asynchronous prescribed fire and variable fire histories. Konza scientists held numerous planning meetings with scientists from Animal Sciences at KSU, and representatives from The Nature Conservancy (there is great interest in the potential use of patch-burning grazing to promote conservation in areas managed for cattle production). The first phase of this project was initiated in summer of 2010, with the implementation of patch burning in a three-watershed unit and the initiation of new stocking rates to complete the proposed experimental design. The patch-burn experiment is an excellent opportunity to increase linkages between programs in basic grassland ecology and more applied programs at KSU. Of equal importance, this will provide new outreach opportunities to encourage wildlife conservation and more sustainable practices by regional land managers and cattle producers. KPBS includes a unique legacy of restoration projects and continues to address fundamental and timely issues in restoration ecology such as the roles soil heterogeneity, seed sources of, and climate in steering community and ecosystem recovery. In 2010, we initiated the Restoration Chronosequence Experiment. The study design includes restoration of replicated 20 m x 20 m plots in an agricultural field every other year for the first 6 years (to address short-term objectives) and continued until the establishment of 24 field plots according to a decadal plan. The long-term objective of this initiative is to establish a restoration chronosequence to quantify changes in physical conditions, organism abundances, and ecosystem processes using space-for-time substitution. In 2010, we also initiated new monitoring of stream geomorphology and sediment transport. These data will yield new information over decadal time scales about sediment and nutrient transport, and how these trends are related to changes in woody riparian vegetation expansion and in-stream biodiversity, as well as the impacts on interannual climatic variability and associated stream hydrology. In the fall of 2010, we started mechanically removing all woody vegetation within 10 m of either side of a 4-km reach immediately upstream of a weir with a long-term hydrology and water chemistry record (N02B), and will continue to mechanically control woody vegetation for 6 yrs. We have 2 comparison gauged watersheds and 15 yrs of before-removal water quality data from this watershed. PARTICIPANTS: John M. Briggs; Prof. Biol. and Director of KPBS; Plant Ecology especially the role of fire and grazing in grasslands; The expansion of woody vegetation into grasslands; Landscape Ecology; Influence of humans on ecosystems; The use of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems in Ecosystem Research. Annie Baker; Assistant KPBS Environmental Educator John M. Blair; University Distinguished Prof.; Edwin G. Brychta Prof. Biol.; Lead-PI of Konza LTER; Ecosystem ecology and terrestrial biogeochemistry; Grasslands and global change; Soil ecology, including decomposition, soil nutrient cycling, litter/soil/plant nutrient dynamics; Effects of climate change and other disturbances on ecosystem processes; Restoration ecology; Ecology of soil invertebrates. Walter K. Dodds; University Distinguished Prof. Biol.; Aquatic Ecology; water quality. Kieth B. Gido; Assoc. Prof. Biol.; Fish Ecology, Invasive species effects, Fish Assemblage Structure. David C. Hartnett; University Distinguished Prof.; Prof. Biol.; Plant Population Biology; Plant-animal Interactions; Ecology of Grasslands and Savannas, Ecology of African Savanna Grasses; Mycorrhizal Symbiosis. Eva A. Horne; Assistant Prof.; Assistant Director KPBS. Agonistic and anti-predator behavior of reptiles and amphibians, response of reptile and amphibian populations to unpredictable environmental occurrences. Anthony Joern; University Distinguished Prof. Biol.; Insect community ecology; insect/plant interactions; grassland ecology. Donald W. Kaufman; Prof. Biol.; Population biology of mammals; community ecology of small mammals; nongame wildlife ecology; prairie ecology; conservation biology. Glennis A. Kaufman; Research Assist. Prof.; Small mammal population and community ecology, behavior, prairie ecology, conservation. Jessie B. Nippert; Assist. Prof. Biol.; Tallgrass prairie plant eco-physiology; Eco-hydrology; Stable isotope ecology; Plant responses to climate change Brett K. Sandercock; Assoc. Prof. Biol.; Co-PI of REU program; Behavioral ecology; demography; evolutionary ecology; mark-recapture statistics; matrix methods; ornithology; population biology. Samantha Wisley; Assoc. Prof. Biol.; use of genetic, morphometric and field techniques to answer multidisciplinary questions about the ecology, biogeography and population biology of carnivores. Valerie Wright; Konza Environmental Educator TARGET AUDIENCES: Our activities on KPBS benefit a wide range of individuals. This includes scientists across the world using the results from our research in helping understand prairie ecosystems. In addition, local ranchers are helped by our activities in understanding how grazing impact grasslands. Finally, through our extensive education programs K-12, undergraduates and graduate students are impacted by our program. Efforts: The KPBS hosted numerous meetings and conferences in its newly renovated Konza Prairie Meeting Hall. Some of them included the annual meeting of the Kansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife, the Board meeting of the Kansas Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, the annual workshop of the Konza Prairie Long Term Ecological Program, Kansas Wildlife and Parks (NE section), The Great Plain AFRI planning committee, Kansas Society for Range Management, North Central Region for Agricultural Education, and undergraduate students from the Haskell Environmental Research Studies Institute. During all of these occasions, the results of the long-term experiments and resulting research results at KPBS are shared with a wide range of individuals. Since KPBS is an outdoor laboratory access is greatly restricted. However, every two years, KPBS provides guided tours through its restricted research areas. On September 25, 2010, over 650 individuals visited the KPBS during its Biennial Visitor's Day. The Konza Prairie Research Experience for Undergraduates Program is coordinated by KPBS, and by faculty and staff in the Division of Biology at Kansas State University. The program has been offered annually since 1995, and runs for 10 weeks each summer. In the summer of 2010, 16 students from 12 different universities (non-KSU) participated in the program. An education director (Dr. Valerie Wright) leads the Konza Environmental Education Program (KEEP) with her assistant Annie Baker. KEEP has a two-fold mission of increasing appreciation and understanding of natural ecosystems and of the process and value of science among K-12 students and the public. In 2010, the KEEP program hosted 139 education events for the general public and 5,026 individuals were in attendance. KEEP also had 2,701 K-12 students visit KPBS where they either collected data or participated in other events learning about the research being conducted on sites. Nine KSU conferences with 383 individuals were also hosted by the KEEP program with most of them being non-biology and most from other universities. In 2005 the Konza School Yard LTER program was expanded statewide with schools across Kansas collecting data and contributing to long-term databases at satellite prairie sites (Prairies Across Kansas). This was continued in 2010. Finally, KEEP also has outreach activities off-sites (e.g. presentations at public libraries, schools, etc. In 2010, they were involved with eight off-site presentations with 297 individuals in attendance. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Native ungulates were an important driver of ecological processes in tallgrass prairie, and bison were reintroduced to Konza Prairie between 1987 and 1992. The bison herd at is maintained in ten watersheds covering 1,012 hectares, and stocked at rate to remove approximately 25% of the ANPP on average. In 2010, we continued studies of bison grazing based on collars fitted with GPS units to quantify spatial and temporal movement patterns of the bison herd. These data allowed us to document landscape-level patterns of activity, and to recognize gradients of potential grazing impact within and among watersheds, including interactions with different fire frequency treatments over the long term. 14 years of data on individual bison weights at Konza were analyzed and compared to potential explanatory variables. KPBS also recently participated in a project with other TNC sites to evaluate the degree of introgression of cattle genes into their bison herds. Using DNA extracted from hair follicles taken from the base of the tail during roundup in 2006-2007, 408 individual bison were screened for the presence of cattle genes. Of these, 1 of 406 (0.2%) samples contained domestic cattle mtDNA, and domestic cattle alleles of nuclear-DNA were identified at 3 of 14 markers in 16 of 408 (3.9%) individuals. These results indicated that the Konza Prairie herd has relatively low levels of introgression of cattle genes, relative to all TNC herds screened. KPBS research continues to focus on climatic variability as a critical factor affecting the structure and function of tallgrass prairie ecosystems. Within grasslands, the importance of both amounts and timing of precipitation inputs as forcing functions makes them particularly responses to inherent climatic variability and vulnerable to the changes predicted by global climate change models. Long-term monitoring of fish communities in 2010 represent the 14th year of collections from Kings Creek on KPBS. Frequent sampling along a gradient of headwater springs to downstream perennial reaches helped us understand the importance of landscape connectivity on the stability of native fish populations. KPBS long-term "season-of-fire" experiments have taken on added significance in recent years, as questions about the impact of regional grassland burning and EPA regulations regarding air quality and have focused on the ecological importance of burning. This problem has been exacerbated by the relatively narrow window during which management-related (cattle pasture) spring burning has historically taken place in the Flint Hills. Our data suggests that management-related burning could be spread out in time without adverse effects on grassland productivity or species composition, and will a lessen impact on spring air quality in major metropolitan areas. Findings from the season of fire project have been published in applied ecology journals presented at various management-related meetings and continue to grow in importance as the issue of managing fire and smoke in the Midwest grows.

Publications

  • Augustine, J.K., J.J. Millspaugh, and B.K. Sandercock. 2010. (In Press). Testosterone: a proximate factor mediating mating success in male Greater Prairie-Chickens Studies in Avian Biology. Bach, E.M, S.G. Baer, C.K. Meyer, and J. Six. 2010. (In Press). Soil texture affects microbial and structural recovery during grassland restoration. Soil Biology & Biochemistry.
  • Brunsell, N.A., J.M. Ham, and K.A. Arnold. 2010. (In Press). Validating remotely sensed land surface fluxes in heterogeneous terrain with large aperture scintillometry. International Journal of Remote Sensing.
  • Casey, A.E., B.K. Sandercock, and S.M. Wisely. 2010. (In Press). Genetic parentage and local population structure in the socially monogamous Upland Sandpiper. Condor.
  • Craine, J.M. and T.M. Gelderman. 2010. (In Press). Soil moisture controls on temperature sensitivity of soil organic carbon decomposition. Soil Biology & Biochemistry.
  • Gregory, A.J., L.B. McNew, T.J. Prebyl, B.K. Sandercock, and S.M. Wisely. 2010. (In Press). A multiscale hierarchical modeling approach to mapping lekking habitats of Greater Prairie-Chickens in eastern Kansas. Studies in Avian Biology. Jumpponen, A., K. Keating, G.L.Gadbury, K.L. Jones, and J.D. Mattox. 2010. (In Press). Multi-element fingerprinting and high throughput sequencing identify multiple elements that affect fungal communities in Quercus macrocarpa foliage. Plant Signaling and Behaviour.
  • Kaufman, G.A., D.M. Kaufman, and D.W. Kaufman. 2010. (In Press). Treated versus new traps: does chronic applications of disinfectant to live traps reduce trappability of rodents. Southwestern Naturalist.
  • Klopf, R.P. and S.G. Baer. 2010. (In Press). Root dynamics of cultivar and non-cultivar population sources of three dominant grasses during initial establishment of tallgrass prairie. Restoration Ecology. Lambert, A.M., S.G. Baer, and D.J. Gibson (In Press). Intraspecific variation in ecophysiology of three dominant prairie grasses used in restoration: cultivar vs. non-cultivar population sources. Restoration Ecology.
  • Laws, A. and A. Joern. 2010. (In Press). Grasshopper fecundity responses to grazing and fire in a tallgrass prairie. Environmental Entomology.
  • McNew, L.B., A.J. Gregory, S.M. Wisely, and B.K. Sandercock. 2010. (In Press). Reproductive chronology of Greater Prairie-Chickens in Kansas. Studies in Avian Biology. McNew, L.B., A.J. Gregory, S.M. Wisely, and B.K. Sandercock. 2010. (In Press). Evidence of human-mediated life-history evolution in Greater Prairie-Chickens. Studies in Avian Biology. Roth, T.C., L.D. LaDage, and V.V. Pravosudov. 2010. (In Press). Learning capabilities enhanced in harsh environments: a common garden approach. Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences.
  • Whiting, D.P., M.R. Whiles, and M.L. Stone. 2010. (In Press). Patterns of macroinvertebrate production, trophic structure, and energy flow along a tallgrass prairie stream continuum. Limnology and Oceanography.
  • Craine, J.M., E.G. Towne, and J.B. Nippert. 2010. Climate controls on grass culm production over a quarter century in a tallgrass prairie. Ecology 91: 2132-2140 . Craine, J.M., N. Fierer, and K.K. McLauchlan. 2010. Widespread coupling between the rate and temperature sensitivity of organic matter decay. Nature Geoscience 3: 854-857.
  • Dodds, W.K., W.H. Clements, K.B. Gido, R.H. Hilderbrand, and R.S. King. 2010. Thresholds, breakpoints, and nonlinearity in freshwaters as related to management. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 29: 988-997.
  • Gido, K.B., W.K. Dodds, and M.E. Eberle. 2010. Retrospective analysis of fish community change during a half-century of landuse and streamflow changes. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 29: 970-987.
  • Grace, T., F. Dowell, A. Joern, S.M. Wisely, S.J. Brown, and E. Maghirang. 2010. Divergent host plant adaptation drives the evolution of reproductive isolation in the grasshopper Hesperotettix viridis (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Biological Journal of the Linnaean Society 100: 866-878.
  • Hartnett, D.C. 2010. Into Africa: Promoting international ecological research and training in the developing world. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 91: 202-206.
  • Ippolito, J.A., S.W. Blecker, C.L. Freeman, R.L. McCulley, J.M. Blair, and E.F. Kelly. 2010. Phosphorus biogeochemistry across a precipitation gradient in grasslands of central North America. Journal of Arid Environments 74 : 954-961 . Jangid, K., M.A. Williams, A.J. Franzluebbers, J.M. Blair, D.C. Coleman, and W.B. Whitman. 2010. Development of soil microbial communities during tallgrass prairie restoration. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 42: 302-312.
  • Johnson, N.C., G.W.T. Wilson, M.A. Bowker, J.A. Wilson, and R.M. Miller. 2010. Resource limitation is a driver of local adaptation in mycorrhizal symbioses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107: 2093-2098.
  • Jumpponen, A. and K.L. Jones. 2010. Seasonally dynamic fungal communities in Quercus macrocarpa phyllosphere differ among urban and nonurban environments. New Phytologist 186: 496-513.
  • Jumpponen, A., K.L. Jones, and J.M. Blair. 2010. Vertical distribution of fungal communities in tallgrass prairie soil. Mycologia 102: 1027-1041 . Jumpponen, A., K.L. Jones, J.D. Mattox, and C. Yeage. 2010. Massively parallel 454-sequencing of fungal communities in Quercus spp. ectomycorrhizas indicates seasonal dynamics in urban and rural sites. Molecular Ecology 19: 41-53.
  • Kaufman, D.W. and G.A. Kaufman. 2010. The least weasel on Konza Prairie Biological Station, Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 113: 206-208.
  • Kaufman, D.W., G.A. Kaufman, and D.E. Brillhart . 2010. Small mammals as winter prey of long-eared owls in Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 113: 217-222.
  • Kaufman, G.A. and D.W. Kaufman. 2010. The meadow jumping mouse on Konza Prairie Biological Station, Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 113: 209-216.
  • Klug, P.E., S.L. Jackrel, and K.A. With. 2010. Linking snake habitat use to nest predation risk in grassland birds: the dangers of shrub cover. Oecologia 162: 803-813.
  • Mandyam, K., T. Loughlin, and A. Jumpponen. 2010. Isolation and morphological and metabolic characterization of common endophytes in annually burned tallgrass prairie. Mycologia 102: 813-821 . McCain, K.N.S., S.G. Baer, J.M. Blair, and G.W.T. Wilson. 2010. Dominant grasses suppress local diversity in restored tallgrass prairie. Restoration Ecology 18: 40-49.
  • McLauchlan, K.K., C.J. Ferguson, I.E. Wilson, T.W. Ocheltree, and J.M. Craine. 2010. Thirteen decades of foliar isotopes indicate declining nitrogen availability in central North American grasslands. New Phytologist 187: 1135-1145.
  • Spasojevic, M.J., R.J.Aicher, G.R. Koch, E.S. Marquardt, N. Mirotchnick, T.G. Troxler, and S.L. Collins. 2010. Fire and grazing in a mesic tallgrass prairie: impacts on plant species and functional traits. Ecology 91: 1651-1659.
  • Strum, K.M., M.J. Hooper, K.A. Johnson, R.B. Lanctot, M.E. Zaccagnini, and B.K. Sandercock. 2010. Exposure of migratory nonbreeding shorebirds to cholinesterase-inhibiting contaminants in the Western Hemisphere. The Condor 112: 15-28.
  • Taylor, E.B. and M.A. Williams. 2010. Microbial protein in soil: influence of extraction method and C amendment on extraction and recovery. Microbial Ecology 59: 390-399.
  • Travers, S.E., Z. Tang, D. Caragea, K.A. Garrett, S.H. Hulbert, J.E. Leach, J. Bai, A. Saleh, A.K. Knapp, P.A. Fay, J. Nippert, P.S. Schnable, and M.D. Smith. 2010. Variation in gene expression of Andropogon gerardii in response to altered environmental conditions associated with climate change. Journal of Ecology 98: 374-383.
  • Theses/Dissertations Commerford, J.L. 2010. Calibrating vegetation cover and pollen assemblages in the Flint Hills of Kansas, USA. MA Thesis, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. 73 pp
  • McNew, L.B. 2010. An analysis of Greater Prairie-chicken demography in Kansas: the effects of human land use on the population ecology of an obligate grassland species. PhD Dissertation, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. 149 pp.
  • Reisinger, A.J. 2010. Factors Affecting Denitrification in Headwater Prairie Streams. MS Thesis, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Sprinkle, J.W. 2010. Bud bank density regulates invasion by exotic plants. MS Thesis, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS. 65 pp.
  • Tucker, S. 2010. Morphological and physiological traits as indicators of drought tolerance in tallgrass prairie plants. MS Thesis, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Whiting, D.P. 2010. Macroinvertebrate production, trophic structure, and energy flow along a tallgrass prairie stream continuum. MS Thesis, Southern Illinois University. Carbondale, IL.
  • Winders, K. 2010. Ecosystem Processes of Prairie Streams and the Impact of Anthropogenic Alteration on Stream Ecological Integrity. MS Thesis, Kansas State University. Manhattan, KS.
  • Loaiza, V., J.L. Jonas, and A. Joern. 2010. (In Press). Local distributions of grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) respond to foliar nitrogen but not phosphorus in native grassland. Insect Science.
  • 2010 Apple J., T. Grace, A. Joern, P. St. Amand, and S.M. Wisely. 2010. Comparative genome scan detects host-related divergent selection in the grasshopper Hesperotettix viridis. Molecular Ecology 19: 4012-4028.
  • Baer, S.G., C.K. Meyer, E.M. Bach, R.P. Klopf, and J. Six. 2010. Contrasting ecosystem recovery on two soil textures: implications for carbon mitigation and grassland conservation. Ecosphere 1: -.
  • Bernot, M.J., D.J. Sobota, R.O. Hall Jr., P.J. Mulholland, W. K. Dodds, J.R. Webster, J.L. Tank, L.R. Ashkenas, L.W. Cooper, C.N. Dahm, S.V. Gregory, N.B. Grimm, S.K. Hamilton, S.L. Johnson, W.H. McDowell, J.L. Meyer, B. Peterson, G.C. Poole, H.M. Valett, C. Arango, J.J. Beaulieu, A.J. Burgin , C. Crenshaw, A.M. Helton, L. Johnson, J. Merriam, B.R. Niederlehner, J.M. Brien, J.D. Potter, R.W. Sheibley, S.M. Thomas, and K. Wilson. 2010. Inter-regional comparison of land-use effects on stream metabolism. Freshwater Biology 55: 1874-1890.
  • Bouska, W.W. and C.P. Paukert. 2010. Road crossing designs and their impact on fish assemblages of Great Plains streams. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 139: 214-222.
  • Bremer, D.J. and J.M. Ham. 2010. Net carbon fluxes over burned and unburned native tallgrass prairie. Rangeland Ecology & Management 63: 72-81.
  • Craine, J.M. and E.G. Towne. 2010. High leaf tissue density grassland species consistently more abundant across topographic and disturbance contrasts in a North American tallgrass prairie. Plant and Soil 337: 193-203.
  • Craine, J.M. and R.D. Jackson. 2010. Nitrogen and phosphorus limitation in soils from 98 North American grasslands. Plant and Soil 334: 73-84.
  • Craine, J.M., A.J. Elmore, K.C. Olson, and D. Tolleson. 2010. Climate change and nutritional stress in cattle. Global Change Biology 16: 2901-2911.
  • Melzer, S.E., A.K. Knapp, R.W.S. Fynn, K.P. Kirkman, M.D. Smith, J.M. Blair, and E.F. Kelly. 2010. Fire and grazing impacts on silica production and storage in grass dominated ecosystems. Biogeochemistry 97: 263-278.
  • Murdock, J.M., K.B. Gido, W.K. Dodds, K.N. Bertrand, and M.R. Whiles. 2010. Consumer return chronology alters recovery trajectory of stream ecosystem structure and function following drought. Ecology 91: 1048-1062.
  • O'Brien, J.M. and W.K. Dodds. 2010. Saturation of NO3- uptake in prairie streams as a function of acute and chronic N exposure . Journal of the North American Benthological Society 29: 627-635.
  • Presley, D.R., P.E. Hartley and M.D. Ransom. 2010. Mineralogy and morphological properties of buried polygenetic paleosols formed in late quaternary sediments on upland landscapes of the central plains, USA. Geoderma 154: 508-517.
  • Rivers, J.W., P.S. Gipson, D.P. Althoff, and J.S. Pontius. 2010. Long-term community dynamics of small landbirds with and without exposure to extensive disturbance from military training activities. Environmental Management 45: 203-216.
  • Rivers, J.W., W.E. Jensen, K.L. Kosciuch, and S.I. Rothstein. 2010. Community-level patterns of host use by the Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater), a generalist brood parasite. Auk 127: 263-273.
  • Saleh, A.A., H.U. Ahmed, T.C. Todd, S.E. Travers, K.A. Zeller, J.F. Leslie, and K.A. Garrett. 2010. Relatedness of Macrophomina phaseolina isolates from tallgrass prairie, maize, soybean, and sorghum. Molecular Ecology 19: 79-91.


Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS) is located on a 3,487 hectare native tallgrass prairie preserve jointly owned by The Nature Conservancy and Kansas State University. The KPBS is located in the Flint Hills of northeastern Kansas, a grassland region of steep-slopes overlain by shallow limestone soils unsuitable for cultivation. KPBS is operated as a field research station by the Kansas State University Division of Biology. The station is dedicated to a three-fold mission of long-term ecological research, education, and prairie conservation. It is a unique outdoor laboratory that provides opportunities for the study of tallgrass prairie ecosystems and for basic biological research on a wide range of taxa and processes. It also serves as a "benchmark" for comparisons with areas that have been affected by human activities and as an environmental education facility for students and the public. Konza Prairie is a member of the Organization of Biological Field Stations and the Association of Ecosystem Research Centers, and is a National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site. The station is open to scientists and students from throughout the world. KPBS studies the impacts of environmental change (altered regional climate, nutrient enrichment, changing land-use and land cover patterns, altered land management, and exotic species invasions) on regional rangelands, and aspects of the biodiversity in managed grassland ecosystems. A series of long-term experimental manipulations including various fire frequencies (started in 1972) and grazing (bison added in 1988) are replicated at the watershed level. Konza is in the early stages of setting up a replicated patch-burn study with scientists from the KSU animal science program. As with only on-going experiments, this experiment will be long-term and involve multi-disciplinary scientists from KSU and other universities. It is hoped that results from this study will assist livestock producers who are interested in both wildlife conservation and cattle production. PARTICIPANTS: John M. Briggs; Prof. Biol. and Director of KPBS; Plant Ecology especially the role of fire and grazing in grasslands; The expansion of woody vegetation into grasslands; Landscape Ecology; Influence of humans on ecosystems; The use of Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems in Ecosystem Research. Annie Baker; Assistant KPBS Environmental Educator John M. Blair; University Distinguished Prof.; Edwin G. Brychta Prof. Biol.; Lead-PI of Konza LTER; Ecosystem ecology and terrestrial biogeochemistry; Grasslands and global change; Soil ecology, including decomposition, soil nutrient cycling, litter/soil/plant nutrient dynamics; Effects of climate change and other disturbances on ecosystem processes; Restoration ecology; Ecology of soil invertebrates. Walter K. Dodds; University Distinguished Prof. Biol.; Aquatic Ecology; water quality. Kieth B. Gido; Assoc. Prof. Biol.; Fish Ecology, Invasive species effects, Fish Assemblage Structure. David C. Hartnett; University Distinguished Prof.; Prof. Biol.; Plant Population Biology; Plant-animal Interactions; Ecology of Grasslands and Savannas, Ecology of African Savanna Grasses; Mycorrhizal Symbiosis. Eva A. Horne; Assistant Prof.; Assistant Director KPBS. Agonistic and anti-predator behavior of reptiles and amphibians, response of reptile and amphibian populations to unpredictable environmental occurrences. Anthony Joern; Prof. Biol.; Insect community ecology; insect/plant interactions; grassland ecology. Donald W. Kaufman; Prof. Biol.; Population biology of mammals; community ecology of small mammals; nongame wildlife ecology; prairie ecology; conservation biology. Glennis A. Kaufman; Research Assist. Prof.; Small mammal population and community ecology, behavior, prairie ecology, conservation. Jessie B. Nippert; Assist. Prof. Biol.; Tallgrass prairie plant eco-physiology; Eco-hydrology; Stable isotope ecology; Plant responses to climate change Brett K. Sandercock; Assoc. Prof. Biol.; Co-PI of REU program; Behavioral ecology; demography; evolutionary ecology; mark-recapture statistics; matrix methods; ornithology; population biology. Samantha Wisley; Assist. Prof. Biol.; use of genetic, morphometric and field techniques to answer multidisciplinary questions about the ecology, biogeography and population biology of carnivores. Valerie Wright; Konza Environmental Educator TARGET AUDIENCES: Our activities on KPBS will benefit a wide range of individuals. This includes scientists across the world using the results from our research in helping understand prairie ecosystems. In addition, local ranchers are helped by our activities in understanding how grazing impact grasslands. Finally, through our extensive education programs K-12, undergraduates and graduate students will be impacted by our program. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Project has just started.

Impacts
These research programs at the KPBS will provide a strong scientific foundation to guide conservation and management of native Kansas grasslands, and land use. KPBS K-12 and community education programs will greatly enhance science education in Kansas schools and public understanding and appreciation of agricultural and natural resources.

Publications

  • No publications reported this period