Elsevier

Rangelands

Volume 39, Issue 2, April 2017, Pages 64-72
Rangelands

Juniper Invasions in Grasslands: Research Needs and Intervention Strategies

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rala.2017.03.002Get rights and content

On the Ground

  • Despite prescribed fire programs, invasive juniper trees are increasing in the Great Plains.

  • Continued encroachment of junipers in the Great Plains, especially eastern redcedar and Ashe’s juniper, is degrading grasslands and increasing health concerns through pollen production.

  • Biological and ecological research needs include effects on soil and water as well as restoration potential after a mature invasion is treated.

  • The interface of social science, ecology, economics, and policy may yield productive approaches to slowing the invasion.

Section snippets

A Human History of Juniper Encroachment in the Great Plains

Juniper encroachment in the Great Plains can be better understood through the lens of human interaction with grasslands through time. Around 1770, human population shifts occurred concurrently with increased disease rates among American Indians and the decline of bison and other wildlife.20 The Homestead Act of 1872 opened the Great Plains up for rapid colonization and agricultural conversion, accelerated by additional changes in national land use laws.20 Prior to settlement of the Great Plains

Workshop Outcomes and Discussion

The Great Plains Fire Science Exchange developed a workshop to 1) establish the state of ecological knowledge surrounding juniper expansion and encroachment in the Great Plains; and 2) identify research needs and mechanisms for applying the science to encourage change. The workshop was held in conjunction with the Society of Range Management Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida on 12 February 2014. Four presentations recorded during the workshop describing ecological processes affected by

Conclusions

Juniper tree encroachment is occurring in every state in the Great Plains and is responsible for loss of biodiversity and other ecosystem services. As grasslands convert to juniper woodlands, wildfire risk and public health concerns related to pollen loads emerge. Much research has already been done on the ecology of eastern redcedar, but additional priority research needs relate to water usage, soil relationships, and plant community restoration.

The history of juniper encroachment is a

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the additional members of the discussion group: David Engle, Peter Bauman, Stevie Collins, Gary Llewellyn, and John Ortman, who provided meaningful insights to the workshop. We are grateful to Kansas City Wildlands for sharing their data. Ben Hemingway, Kathie Hanson, and J. Michael Johnson assisted with spatial data and graphics preparation. Mike DeBacker provided needed insight during the revision process. We are also grateful to the editor and an anonymous reviewer for

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    This work was supported by the Joint Fire Science Program, Fire Science Exchange Program. The National Park Service Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network also provided support to the Great Plains Fire Science Exchange. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

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