Understanding how local and regional processes interact to regulate the structure and functioning of ecological systems is crucial for predicting the influence of human activity on biodiversity and ecosystem sustainability. This project continues two long-term field experiments in Kansas grasslands investigating effects of soil fertility and seed availability on grassland community dynamics in response to disturbance. Both experiments manipulate soil nutrients through fertilization and employ multi-species seed additions to manipulate availability of species to sites undergoing succession. Experiment 1 involves manipulations of soil nitrogen and phosphorus to examine plant community development on abandoned agricultural land. Experiment 2 parallels Experiment 1 with manipulations of soil resources and seed availability, but does so in the context of hay management and prairie hay meadow restoration.
Results from these long-term experiments will yield basic insights into the assembly and functioning of plant communities while informing the conservation and restoration of grasslands, particularly with respect to native hay meadows which are important repositories of prairie diversity in eastern Kansas. The project will contribute to the development of the University of Kansas Field Station (KUFS), complement ongoing research at KUFS in grassland and restoration ecology, and will support the education and training of graduate, undergraduate and high school students.
