Progress 07/24/14 to 06/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Information from this project has been communicated to individuals at state and local natural resource professional meetings, at field days/tours and in classes. The target audience includes scientists, graduate and undergraduate students, natural resource specialists (agency), consultants (private), livestock producers and land managers. Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in classes taught by the research team and those who worked on the project have received information about the project on multiple occasions. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project has provided the opportunity for graduate and undergraduate students to gain experience in proposal development, field data and sample collection, plant sample processing, and data entry. To date, we estimate that at least 12 undergraduate students have been engaged in the project, from field data collection to lab preparation. The PhD student on the project has greatly expanded the scope of the work, with an ambitious but realistic goal of changing the understanding and approach to grazing management in larkspur habitat. As part of his work, he is studying and integrating knowledge from diverse disciplines, from social-ecological systems research to agent-based modeling to plant physiology. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The PI and graduate student on this project have made presentations at the CSU Extension Educator meetings as well as several presentations to other students. Investigators also presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Range Management (2017). Additionally, the project has begun to engage individual ranches as partners in the work, with one having hosted field research this past summer, and several expressing interest in engaging in the coming months. An article highlighting some key aspects of this project was recently published in The Fence Post: Breeder's Connection 2017. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
With the assistance of the USDA Poisonous Plants Laboratory, we are approaching a clear understanding of the seasonal toxicity patterns of Geyer Larkspur, and have confirmed that these patterns are similar to what is in the literature for many other larkspur species. Alkaloid concentrations are greatest early in the growing season (pre-bolt) and decline steadily throughout the growing season. This important finding indicates that it is likely that the results of our current and future work on management of grazing in larkspur habitat will apply to the many other species of larkspur that are problematic across the Western US. This work has led us to focus on the aboveground alkaloid pools as a more useful measure of poisoning risk. Alkaloid pool is the product of plant biomass and alkaloid concentration. We have also now established (for the first time for any larkspur species) that the biggest Geyer Larkspur plants contain the most alkaloid toxins. Work begun this year and targeted for completion in 2018 is also indicating that it is highly likely that larkspur plants that are grazed will become smaller and less toxic. These findings suggest that seasonal avoidance, the dominant approach to grazing management in larkspur habitat, may not only be ineffective (which seems to be the case) but in fact may be counterproductive by letting Geyer Larkspur plants complete their life cycle without getting grazed. Given our recent findings, we are no longer pursuing research on the relationship between competing species and larkspur toxicity and abundance and instead are focusing on a complexsystems-based interdisciplinary research program to identify a strategic framework for active grazing management in larkspur habitat.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Jablonski, J.E. and P.J. Meiman. (in review) Derivation of a non-destructive predictive model for Geyers larkspur mass. Rangeland Ecology and Management
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Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Information from this project has been communicated to individuals at state and local natural resource professional meetings, at field days/tours and in classes. The target audience includes scientists, graduate and undergraduate students, natural resource specialists (agency), consultants (private), livestock producers and land managers. Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in classes taught by the research team and those who worked on the project have received information about the project on multiple occasions. Some key aspects of this project were recently discussed in an agricultural production magazine (The Fence Post; Breeder's Connection 2017). Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project has provided the opportunity for graduate and undergraduate students to gain experience in proposal development, field data and sample collection, plant sample processing, and data entry. To date, we estimate that at least 12 undergraduate students have been engaged in the project, from field data collection to lab preparation. The PhD student on the project is now in his fourth semester and has greatly expanded the scope of the work, with an ambitious but realistic goal of changing the understanding and approach to grazing management in larkspur habitat. As part of his work, he is studying and integrating knowledge from diverse disciplines, from social-ecological systems research to agent-based modeling to plant physiology. Additionally, the main undergraduate assistant from this past summer is now pursuing greenhouse-based research on larkspur toxicity and has expressed interest in continuing larkspur research into graduate school. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?While actionable results are still somewhat lacking (though expected by project's end) the investigators have begun reaching out to communities of interest. This has included presentations at the CSU Extension Educator meetings as well as several presentations to other students, a presentation at the state Society for Range Management annual meeting and an upcoming technical presentation at the annual meeting of the Society for Range Management 2017. Additionally, the project has begun to engage individual ranches as partners in the work, with one having hosted field research this past summer, and several expressing interest in engaging in the coming months. A major priority for the work is that the results be practical and actionable for land managers, and we expect that we will reach this goal by the end of the project period. An article highlighting some key aspects of this project was recently published in The Fence Post: Breeder's Connection 2017. Presentations during the reporting period: November 11, 2015, Geyer Larkspur Research Update, CSU Extension Forum, Fort Collins, CO February 1, 2016, A Novel Approach to Managing Larkspur Toxicity, Society for Range Management, Corpus Christi, TX What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? With goals one and two largely accomplished and goal three having yielded interesting results but nothing actionable, the work is now shifting to a multi-faceted effort aimed at defining a new approach to grazing management in larkspur habitat by the spring of 2019. The PhD student on the project has recently successfully presented his research agenda to his committee, with the following goal and objectives: Goal: Identify a new strategic framework for the management of cattle grazing in Geyer larkspur habitat that guides management decision making such that cattle can be grazed at any time and regardless of plant toxicity while eliminating the risk of poisoning death. Objective 1: Define a complex systems-based conceptual framework for the research. Objective 2: Improve understanding of Geyer larkspur toxicity dynamics and potential response to grazing. Objective 3: Develop a spatially-explicit individual-based model to simulate cattle grazing in Geyer larkspur habitat in order to identify key factors that lead to poisoning and pinpoint management-relevant thresholds. Objective 4: Conduct a systems analysis of representative cases of grazing management in Geyer larkspur habitat to improve understanding of viable strategies. Objective 5: Integrate the results of objectives 1-4 to propose a practical strategic framework for grazing management in larkspur habitat. While the completion of these objectives will extend beyond the life of this grant, the current funding has established the foundation for the work, and demonstrated that significant progress on grazing management in larkspur habitat, one of the oldest and most intractable challenges in the Western US, may be achievable in the near future.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We now have seasonal toxicity data for Geyer Larkspur for 2013, 2015, and 2016. With the assistance of the USDA Poisonous Plants Laboratory, we are approaching a clear understanding of the seasonal toxicity patterns of Geyer Larkspur, and have confirmed that these patterns are similar to what is in the literature for many other larkspur species. This important finding indicates that it is likely that the results of our current and future work on management of grazing in larkspur habitat will apply to the many other species of larkspur that are problematic across the Western US. In addition to the work of previous years in establishing the in-season relationships between larkspur abundance and toxicity, we have also now established (for the first time for any larkspur species) that the biggest Geyer Larkspur plants contain the most alkaloid toxins. Work begun this year and targeted for completion in 2018 is also indicating that it is highly likely that larkspur plants that are grazed will become smaller and less toxic. These findings suggest that seasonal avoidance, the dominant approach to grazing management in larkspur habitat, may not only be ineffective (which seems to be the case) but in fact may be counterproductive by letting Geyer Larkspur plants complete their life cycle without getting grazed. Given our recent findings and future research objectives (discussed below), we are no longer pursuing research on the relationship between competing species and larkspur toxicity and abundance and instead are focusing on a complex-systems-based interdisciplinary research program to identify a strategic framework for active grazing management in larkspur habitat.
Publications
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Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15
Outputs
Target Audience:Information from this project has been communicated to individuals at state and local natural resource professional meetings, at field days/tours and in classes. The target audience includes scientists, graduate and undergraduate students, natural resource specialists (agency), consultants (private), livestock producers and land managers. Undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in classes taught by the research team and those who worked on the project have received information about the project on multiple occasions. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project has provided the opportunity for graduate and undergraduate students to gain experience in proposal development, field data and sample collection, plant sample processing, and data entry. To date, we estimate that at least 10 undergraduate students have been engaged in the project, from field data collection to lab preparation. Additionally, a new PhD student has joined the project and has been engaged in every aspect of project management. Last, the investigators on the project have presented information about the project (including preliminary results) in classes to reinforce the material taught in those courses. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?While actionable results are forthcoming and fully expected by project's end, the investigators have begun reaching out to communities of interest. This has included presentations at the CSU Extension Educator meetings as well as several presentations to other students and an upcoming technical presentation at the annual meeting of the Society for Range Management. A major priority for the work is that the results be practical and actionable for land managers, and we expect that we will reach this goal by the end of the project period. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next period we will continue to solidify our understanding of objectives one and two. However, initial results have suggested that the most robust larkspur plants are also the most toxic, and we will be altering some aspects of the work to explore this proposition. If true, this would imply that current management recommendations focused on avoidance are leading to more toxic Geyer Larkspur plants, and consequent higher chances of death upon ingestion by cattle. Using a mixed approach that will incorporate field experiments and work with active ranchers, we will spend the next year examining whether grazing management strategies that utilize higher stock density can lead to lower Geyer Larkpur abundance and toxicity. Upon completion, we expect to be able to combine experimental data and real-world observation to develop a new strategy for effectively managing pastures with Geyer Larkspur.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We now have seasonal toxicity data for Geyer Larkspur from 2013 and 2015, having collected and analyzed (with the assistance of the USDA Poisonous Plants Laboratory) samples in both years during three stages of development: pre-bolt, bolt, and flower. While we will continue to sample in 2016 and perhaps beyond to confirm, it appears that Geyer Larkspur follows a similar seasonal toxicity pattern to the "tall" larkspur species. This seasonal pattern is well-published and begins with high alkaloid concentrations early in the growing season which gradually decline throughout the remainder of the growing season. Although this pattern is well known and well published for the tall larkspurs, confirming its existence in Geyer Larkspur is new. It is also evident that early season plant toxicity is not an indicator of future toxicity, an interesting result that compels future study and holds promise to identify novel approaches for successful livestock grazing management in areas where Geyer Larkspur grows. Early season abundance does appear to predict late season abundance. Perhaps due to poor growing conditions in sites where Geyer Larkspur grows, we have not been able to identify seeded species that effectively out-compete Geyer Larkspur, or even effectively establish themselves. However, we did find that one native species, Helianthus pumilus, may be an effective competitor, though the management utility of this finding appears limited. This aspect of the study has not been for naught in that the large dataset collected has been very useful in inspiring additional questions for study. All told, we have made significant strides in understanding Geyer Larkspur toxicity patterns, and initial study findings are being used to explore new questions, which we feel have the potential to significantly alter our understanding and management of Geyer Larkspur and all species of toxic larkspur.
Publications
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Progress 07/24/14 to 09/30/14
Outputs
Target Audience: We expect that information from this project will be communicated to individuals in two main groups. The first group includes the audiences at state and local professional meetings. This includes scientists, graduate and undergraduate students, natural resource specialists (agency), consultants (private), livestock producers and land managers. The second group includes undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in classes taught by the research team and those who worked on the project. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This project has provided the opportunity for graduate and undergraduate students to gain experience in proposal development, field data and sample collection, plant sample processing, and data entry. In addition, the investigators on the project have presented information about the project (including preliminary results) in classes to reinforce the material taught in those courses. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Preliminary results have been disseminated to students taking courses taught by the investigators. Other than that, it is too early in the project for dissemination of results. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? In the next reporting period, we expect to have completed the analysis of toxicity data from the first year of larkspur sample collection. We will also collect the second year larkspur samples and prepare them for the same type of analysis. We expect to have analyzed the preliminary data on forbs seeded to compete with larkspur.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Larkspur samples for the first year of the project have been collected from the field study site. We collected larkspur samples at three different stages of development; pre-bolt, bolt and flower. Samples have been dried, ground, packaged and shipped to the USDA ARS Poisonous Plants Lab in Logan Utah where toxic alkaloid concentrations will be determined. Field plots that will be used to identify effective forb competitiors with Geyer Larkspur have been established and preliminary data have been collected (but not yet analyzed).
Publications
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