Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item Impacts of low-tech restoration methods on soil, vegetation, and livestock grazing in Montana's sagebrush steppe(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2024) Lowing, Nicholas Allen; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Bok SowellIn the semi-arid rangelands of western North America, water is a limiting factor for plant growth. In Montana's high elevation rangelands, snowmelt is the primary source of water for ephemeral streams and mesic meadows. Wildlife and livestock rely on these areas especially when surrounding uplands have dried. Less snowpack and early melt times associated with climate change pose a threat to forage resources in this region. In 2018 and 2019, small rock restoration structures were constructed in seven drainages in southwest Montana with the intention of increasing resiliency in these systems. In this study we compare stream reaches with restoration structures to reaches without structures to assess the impacts of this technique on soil moisture, plant cover, diversity, evenness, and production. We observed cattle grazing within and adjacent to treated drainages to determine how they use the landscape. We used soil moisture probes to measure soil water content once per month in June-September of 2021 and 2022. We used 0.5m2 frames to estimate plant cover, diversity, and evenness June-September in both years. At the end of each growing season, vegetation frames were clipped and weighed to estimate production. Soil and vegetation sampling occurred in 54 reaches across 7 drainages. We observed cattle near four treated drainages in mornings and evenings to assess whether cattle prefer mesic or upland areas. Cattle observations occurred in July and August of 2021 and 2022. Using linear fixed effects models, we detected no differences (p > or = 0.05) in soil moisture between treated and untreated reaches during any sampling period. We detected no differences in vegetation cover, richness, diversity, or evenness in 92% of sampling periods. No differences in plant production were detected in 2021 or 2022. Cattle used mesic areas in greater proportion to their abundance on the landscape in both years (p < or = 0.0001). Our results indicate that these structures have not yet had major impacts on soil moisture or vegetation metrics. However, our results indicate that mesic meadows are an important resource for grazing cattle in southwest Montana's high- elevation rangelands, supporting the idea that these areas warrant restoration efforts.Item Associations of broad scale vegetation characteristics and abundances, nest densities, and nest survival of mixed-grass prairie songbirds in northern Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2019) Pulliam, John Patrick; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Lance McNewGrassland bird populations are declining faster than any other avian guild. In northern Montana, four species are experiencing severe population declines: Baird's sparrow (Centronyx bairdii), chestnut-collared longspur (Calcarius ornatus), McCown's longspur (Rynchophanes mccownii), and Sprague's pipit (Anthus spragueii). In 2017 and 2018, I evaluated abundance, nest density and nest survival of these species in relation to local vegetative conditions with the goal of identifying important breeding season vegetation conditions to inform management. I conducted fixed-radius point-counts at 100 sites to estimate local abundance, rope drag surveys to estimate nest density, nest monitoring to estimate nest survival, and vegetation surveys to estimate vegetation structure and composition across grassland habitats in Phillips County, MT. Point-counts and rope drag surveys were carried out with replicated visits to allow estimation of species-specific detection probabilities. Vegetation conditions were measured at the plot level (9-ha) to provide information at scales relevant for land managers. The abundance of Baird's sparrows was positively associated with residual grass cover and litter cover. Chestnut-collared longspur abundance was negatively associated with residual grass, exotic grass, and shrub cover and had a quadratic relationship with biomass. Plot-level abundance of McCown's longspurs was negatively associated with both shrub cover and biomass. Sprague's pipit abundance declined with exotic grass cover and exhibited a quadratic relationship with biomass. Limited sample size only allowed inference of nest density and nest survival for chestnut-collared longspurs. Nest density was negatively associated with plot scale exotic grass cover, biomass, and slope. I did not find support for any vegetation covariates on nest survival for chestnut-collared longspurs. These results provide some guidance for landscape managers interested in improving habitat for these species. The contrasting results among species, however, emphasize the need for heterogeneity in vegetation structure and composition. The disconnect between relevant covariates for nest density and nest survival suggest possible maladaptation for chestnut-collared longspurs. This result suggests that an index of productivity for this species that does not include both nest density and nest survival may produce erroneous results.Item Plant materials for use on disturbed alpine areas in Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1986) Parks, John Clayton; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Frank F. MunshowerItem An inventory of carbon stocks under native vegetation and farm fields in south-central Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2015) Kisch, Hailey Rose; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Clayton B. MarlowAnnually, carbon dioxide (CO 2) is emitted from the burning of fossil fuels, creating a CO 2 emission source. Vegetation and soils capture and store these emissions, however not nearly in the quantity being emitted. Disparity between sources and sinks of CO 2 emissions requires actions focused on reducing CO 2 emissions (CCSP, 2007). Cabin Creek Ranch, near Shepherd, MT offers a rich opportunity to understand the current carbon balance within various land cover types, and to determine the effect that cropping, grazing and concentrated feeding has on the potential for ranch soils to sequester additional carbon. Samples were collected from 30 soil and 16 vegetation locations, which were randomly chosen in a variety of cover types. Soil samples were taken every 15 cm throughout the soil profile (down to 100 cm, if possible). Four .25 m 2 frames were used to collect herbaceous material 25 meters in each cardinal direction from soil pit center. Clay and land cover type were found to have a significant interaction on the organic carbon content in the soils (p=0.021). Additionally, dryland crop was found to be significantly different in organic carbon content compared to other cover types (p<0.0001). Therefore, management towards a specific land cover type could help mitigate CO 2 emissions. For example, revegetating dryland crop fields to a native grassland, sagebrush or forest, the landscape would be able to store 230%, 232% and 256% more organic carbon, respectively. Understanding the carbon balance on the landscape scale contributes to understanding the global carbon balance to help mitigate burning of fossil fuels.Item Short-term changes in vegetation and soil in response to a bulldozed fireline in northern great plains grasslands(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2015) Tulganyam, Samdanjigmed; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Craig Carr; Craig A. Carr was a co-author of the article, 'Short-term vegetation response to bulldozed fireline in northern great plains grasslands' submitted to the journal 'Northwest science' which is contained within this thesis.; Craig A. Carr was a co-author of the article, 'Short-term soil response to bulldozed fireline in northern great plains grasslands' submitted to the journal 'Northwest science' which is contained within this thesis.The objectives of this study was to quantify the ecological cost of bulldozed fireline in comparison to burned and unburned sites and draw a management implications for ranchers and land owners. Vegetation cover and abundance were determined with biomass clipping and line point intercept method as separate functional groups across the bladed, burned, and unburned sites in two locations, north central and south west Montana for two years. Study area encompassed idaho fescue and bluebunch wheatgrass dominated north facing slope in Redbluff and rough fescue and bluebunch dominated grassland in Havre. After quantifying vegetation responses, top soil horizon depth, bulk density, aggregate stability and runoff and sediment yield were determined to quantify soil response to bulldozed fireline. In general, burned site did not differ from unburned site particularly by the second year after the fire. In other words fire was not detrimental to the rangeland condition. Whereas bulldozed fireline altered primary ecological processes, particularly nutrient cycle and hydrologic functioning, by mechanically removing native plant species, creating exposed bare ground which was susceptible to soil erosion and invasion of competitive non-natives.Item Plant succession on five naturally revegetated strip-mined deposits at Colstrip, Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1979) Skilbred, Chester L.Item Response of understory vegetation to varied lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) spacing intervals in western Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 1982) Conway, Terry Michael