Effects of feral horse grazing, clipping, trampling and a late winter burn on salt marsh, Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia
Turner MG. 1985. Effects of feral horse grazing, clipping, trampling and a late winter burn on salt marsh, Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 66(2; Program Issue):285
To assess effects of multiple perturbations on an ecosystem, replicated 200 m2 experimental plots in a medium height Spartina alterniflora marsh were studied from July 1983 to November 1984. Net aboveground primary productivity (NAPP) of grazed, clipped, trampled, and clipped + trampled plots was approximately 60, 60, 50 and 33% that of controls, respectively. NAPP of burned, burned + trampled, and burned + grazed plots was about 70% of unburned equivalents. NAPP of burn + clip and burn + clip + trample plots was similar to their unburned equivalents. Rhizome productivity decreased with grazing and (after 8 months) with clipping and trampling treatments, whereas burning had no effect. Total belowground macroorganic matter (10 cm depth) was not affected by any treatment. Abundance of the snail, Littorina irrorata decreased with both clipping and trampling, but only during late spring and early summer of 1984. Abundance of some macroinfaunal species was affected by trampling, especially during the summer.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Turner, Monica
- Units
- CUIS
- Keywords
- Ecology, Environmental Impact, Feral Animals, Grazing, Horse (Equus caballus), Prescribed Burns, Salt Marshes, Soil Compaction, Vegetation