Biocrust community composition did appear to be affected by grazing management practices, as well as the combined effect of grazing management practices and drought, but only in the central Alberta sites studied. This may be due to biocrusts in southern Alberta being better drought-adapted than biocrusts in central Alberta, whether due to specialized growth habits of specific species, or potentially by specific drought-adapted algal genotypes. Biocrusts subjected to adaptive grazing or fall grazing treatments tended to be similar. Biocrusts under spring or continuous grazing also tended to be similar.
In general, control grazing treatments tended to be associated with increased surface litter and negatively associated with pH. Surface litter tended to trend away from biocrust species richness and diversity, implying that surface litter and pH could be important environmental factor that contribute to changes in biocrust community composition. Fall and adaptive grazing treatments tended to be associated with increased biocrust richness and diversity.
Some biocrust species were more sensitive to treatment than others. Using a fall or adaptive grazing approach, even in combination with drought, was preferred to no grazing, heavy continuous, or spring grazing treatments by most species. As grasslands in Alberta evolved under grazing and fire disturbance, some level of grazing is necessary to maintain the ecological function of these areas. This study indicated that promoting management practices such as moderate grazing, especially during drought, will maintain habitat quality for biocrust species.
Disclaimer: This website was created for a class project for RENR 690 at the University of Alberta. Results presented are based on a randomly generated dataset.