GRAZING AS A MANAGEMENT TOOL FOR CONTROLLING PHRAGMITES AUSTRALIS AND RESTORING NATIVE PLANT BIODIVERSITY IN WETLANDS

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dc.contributor.advisorBaldwin, Andrew Hen_US
dc.contributor.authorBrundage, Jennifer Emilienneen_US
dc.contributor.departmentMarine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciencesen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2010-07-03T05:32:17Z
dc.date.available2010-07-03T05:32:17Z
dc.date.issued2010en_US
dc.description.abstractThis study examined the feasibility of grazing as a sustainable and low-impact means of controlling <italic>Phragmites</italic>. In addition, this study examined whether grazing of <italic>Phragmites</italic> by large herbivores (goats) in a wetland affects soil and soil water nutrient pools, and thus how grazing might affect nutrient export from the wetland. An isolated, created wetland at USDA's Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in Beltsville, MD was divided into four grazed and four ungrazed plots. Two rounds of grazing significantly reduced <italic>Phragmites</italic> height, stem count, and biomass and increased some measures of plant diversity. Grazing significantly elevated soil water total nitrogen and total phosphorus levels and reduced soil water-soluble phosphorus levels. The nutrient pool analysis indicates that grazing reduced the fertility of the system. The results of this study will inform the development of an alternative, sustainable approach to controlling <italic>Phragmites</italic> that integrates the local agricultural community while benefiting the local ecology.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/10438
dc.subject.pqcontrolledBiology, Ecologyen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledNatural Resource Managementen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledWater Resource Managementen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledinvasive controlen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledPhragmites australisen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledrestoration grazingen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledwetland nutrient cyclingen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledwetland water qualityen_US
dc.titleGRAZING AS A MANAGEMENT TOOL FOR CONTROLLING PHRAGMITES AUSTRALIS AND RESTORING NATIVE PLANT BIODIVERSITY IN WETLANDSen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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