Jack E. Norland

Hyperspectral One-Meter-Resolution Remote Sensing in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming: II. Biomass

Abstract This study was designed to determine the utility of a 1-m-resolution hyperspectral sensor to estimate total and live biomass along with the individual biomass of litter, grasses, forbs, sedges, sagebrush, and willow from grassland and riparian communities in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. A large number of simple ratio-type vegetation indices (SRTVI) and normalized difference-type vegetation indices (NDTVI) were developed from the hyperspectral data and regressed against ground-collected biomass. Results showed the following: 1) Strong relationships were found between SRTVI or NDTVI and total (R2 = 0.87), live (R2 = 0.84), sedge (R2 = 0.77), and willow (R2 = 0.66) biomass. 2) Weak relationships were found between SRTVI or NDTVI and grass (R2 = 0.39), forb (R2 = 0.16), and litter (R2 = 0.51) biomass, possibly caused by the mixture of spectral signatures with grasses, sedges, and willows along with the variable effect of the litter spectral signature. 3) A weak relationship was found between sagebrush biomass and SRTVI or NDTSI (R2 = 0.3) that was related to interference from sagebrush photosynthetic or nonphotosynthetic branch and twig material, and from the indeterminate spectral signature of sagebrush. This study has shown that hyperspectral imagery at 1-m resolution can result in high correlations and low error estimates for a variety of biomass components in rangelands. This methodology can thus become a very useful tool to estimate rangeland biomass over large areas.

Hyperspectral one-meter-resolution remote sensing in yellowstone national park, wyoming I. Forage nutritional values

Abstract Hyperspectral 1-m-resolution remote sensing has the potential to reduce the time spent sampling and reduce spatial sampling errors found in traditional forage nutritive analysis over large areas. The objective of this study was to investigate if 1-m-resolution hyperspectral techniques are useful tools to provide reliable estimates of forage nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) in Yellowstone National Park. The vegetative communities investigated varied in the amount of canopy coverage and species diversity, and ranged from xeric, semiarid environments to mesic, wetland/riparian environments. A large number of simple ratio-type vegetation indices (SRTVI) and normalized difference-type vegetation indices (NDTVI) were developed with the hyperspectral dataset. These indices were regressed against N, P, and NDF values from ground collections. We found that 1) there were strong linear relationships between selected SRTVI and N (R2 = 0.7), P (R2 = 0.65), and NDF (R2 = 0.87) nutritive values on an area basis (g·m−2); and 2) there were no strong linear relationships (R2 < 0.3) between a variety of SRTVI and NDTVI and N, P, and NDF on a dry matter basis (g·g−1 × 100). The lack of relationship is related to 1) the highly variable relationship between the dry matter biochemical signal and total plant biomass and water content and 2) the weakening of the biochemical signal from exposed soil in low-canopy situations, from nonphotosynthetic vegetation (bark, stems, and litter), and from different plant species.

Leafy Spurge Suppression by Flea Beetles in The Little Missouri Drainage Basin, USA

Abstract The Ecological Area-wide Management Leafy Spurge, or TEAM Leafy Spurge, began collecting and redistributing flea beetles (Aphthona spp.) to research/demonstration sites and landowners throughout the Little Missouri River drainage basin to control leafy spurge in 1998. A study to evaluate the change over time of leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) phytosociological characteristics following release of flea beetles was initiated in 2002 on leafy spurge–infested pasture and rangeland in the Little Missouri River drainage of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. A total of 292 flea beetle release sites were analyzed in June and July 2002 and 2003 for leafy spurge stem density, foliar cover, flea beetle density, and vegetation composition. Leafy spurge stem density suppression was evident at 91% of the study sites. On two-thirds of the study sites stem density was reduced from greater than 100 stems·m−1 to less than 25 stems·m−1. Leafy spurge foliar cover was less than 5% on approximately two-thirds of the flea beetle release sites and less than 25% on over 90% of the release sites. Area of observed leafy spurge suppression ranged from 0 m2 to 30000 m2. Approximately 40% of the release sites had leafy spurge suppression ranging from 1000 m2 to 5000 m2, and 14% of the release sites had greater than 10000 m2 of leafy spurge control. Plant community composition following leafy spurge suppression was characteristic of native plant communities that had not been burned or grazed. Flea beetles effectively reduced leafy spurge stem density and cover in 4–5 yr across a variety of locations and corresponding environmental conditions, both within the Little Missouri River drainage and in selected nearby locations.

Plant richness-biomass relationships in restored northern Great Plains grasslands (USA).

We investigated plant richness-biomass relationships in tall grass (Field 1, 12 years) and mixed grass (Field 2, 5 years) restoration experiments located in the northern Great Plains grasslands (USA). They were organized as randomized factorial experiments with fertilization rates (N or P) and number of species as factors. Results were as follows: (1) above ground biomass (AGB) increased and year-to-year variability declined with plant species and functional form richness. (2) AGB was higher when the species had various combinations: (a) high relative growth rates, root density, root surface area, N or P uptake rates, and N use efficiency; (b) low root-to-shoot ratio and root plasticity. (3) Biomass stability was positively related to high root surface area in Field 1 and N use efficiency and P uptake rates in Field 2. (4) Invasion of nonseeded species declined with plant species and functional form richness.

Reduced Establishment of Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense) Using Functionally Similar Native Forbs

Although grazing increased several native bunchgrass species, the effects were small and dependent on seeding and/or herbicide treatments. The relatively subtle effect of grazing is likely related to difficulties in obtaining consistent and adequate utilization. Both topography and location of water in the pasture resulted in uneven distribution of cattle. Only one of four blocks was grazed to our target utilization level of 80%. Salting, herding or portable electric fences should help provide more effective grazing applications in the future. Our research demonstrates that simple, low-cost interventions can increase native perennial grasses at the expense of exotic perennial grasses. The treatments in this study are only moderately expensive and thus feasible for implementation across large areas. Herbicide and native seed treatments were approximately

Outcomes of Past Grassland Reconstructions in Eastern North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota: Analysis of Practices

625 (US) per hectare including the rental of a tractor, range drill, and contracting an herbicide applicator. Because most old field land is currently used as pasture, we assumed that grazing could be implemented with minimal cost. Small-scale, economically-feasible experiments designed to pioneer augmentative approaches for the rehabilitation of old fields provide excellent tests of treatments prior to large-scale implementation. With preliminary results in hand, larger-scale management can be conducted to refine the ability to improve these ecosystems. Experiments conducted at scales of 5–25 ha are now being implemented in old fields on the Zumwalt Prairie. Combinations of grazing, herbicide, and seeding will be further evaluated with a focus on more consistent and effective treatment application. Our current results of reductions in the abundance of exotic perennial grasses and increases in native bunchgrasses in seeded plots, especially those also receiving either herbicide or grazing treatments, suggest that an augmentative restoration approach has potential for Zumwalt old fields.

The Use of Sediment Removal to Reduce Phosphorus Levels in Wetland Soils

A common complaint of ecological restoration is there have been few systematic analyses of past restorations which has led to a lack of evidence informing future restorations. An analysis was done on 123 past native grassland reconstructions, spanning the last 40 years, in eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota. A cluster analysis and indicator species analysis were used to place the 123 surveyed reconstructions into five significantly different groups. The five groups were separated into a Native group with the sub-groups, Big Bluestem Dominated (BBD) and Native Grass Mix (NGM) having native species as indicators, and an Exotic group with two exotic grasses, smooth brome (Bromus inermis) and Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), being indicators. Thirty-eight percent of the reconstructions were classified as Exotic. A logistic regression was used to assign membership probability to the Native group based on: 1) seed mix species richness; 2) number of grass species in the seed mix; 3) percent of grasses in seed mix; 4) time of year when seeded; and 5) seeding method. The probability of membership to the Native group for dormant season seeding, broadcast seeding, and 20+ species natives seed mix was 100%, 74%, and 81%, respectively. The probabilities of the different practices in relation to the reconstruction outcomes will provide evidence for managers on how to plan for future reconstructions.

Understanding How Large Metropolitan/Inner City, Urban Cluster, and Rural Students Perceive Food Systems

The Use of Sediment Removal to Reduce Phosphorus Levels in Wetland Soils Skye Fasching (School Natural Resources Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58108), Jack Norland (corresponding author: School Natural Resources Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58108, Jack.Norland@NDSU.edu), Tom DeSutter (School Natural Resources Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58108), Edward DeKeyser (School Natural Resources Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58108), Francis Casey (School Natural Resources Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58108), Christina Hargiss (School Natural Resources Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, 58108).

Comparing tiers of a multi-tiered wetland assessment in the Prairie Pothole Region

Students generally understood where food comes from, less clear on what is local Urban and rural students did not differ on food system knowledge Low interest in local food and gardening, but higher use by rural students More use of farmers markets in large metro/inner city compared to rural

Germination Characteristics of a Native Non-Indigenous Prairie Forb in Prairie Plantings

Wetland assessment has been shown to be an important tool in understanding the condition and function of the world’s wetlands, and use of muli-tiered assessment strategy has been recommended. In order to evaluate the performance of each tier of a multi-tiered wetland assessment strategy, we sampled 255 seasonally-ponded wetlands in the Missouri Coteau, the most wetland dense ecoregion in the Prairie Pothole Region. We assessed the condition of each study wetland using four sampling methods and models (tiers) of increasing levels of effort and complexity: (1) a level 1 assessment using the geographic information system-based Landscape Wetland Condition Analysis Model (LWCAM); (2) a level 2 assessment using the North Dakota Rapid Assessment Method (NDRAM); (3) a level 3- assessment using the vegetative-based Floristic Quality Index (FQI) and (4) a level 3 assessment consisting of a Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Model functional assessment. We compared assessment tiers to determine how similar the different levels of assessment ranked sites either by condition or function. Both the NDRAM and FQI assessments, though very different in wetland characteristics assessed, provided similar condition rankings as the more intensive level 3 HGM assessment (89 and 90% similar, respectively). Additionally, the FQI was 86% similar to the level 2 NDRAM, indicating that these two assessment methods have utility in assessing wetlands similar to a HGM assessment. Information from this study can be used as a tool for determining need specific, financial, and time appropriate wetland sampling methods.