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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Effects Of Cattle Grazing On Woodlands In Central Iowa, Cathy Mabry
Effects Of Cattle Grazing On Woodlands In Central Iowa, Cathy Mabry
Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS
Iowa's forests have undergone a dramatic decline in area since settlement by Europeans. Most of the remaining forests have been degraded by an assortment of human impacts, with cattle grazing the most prominent among them. Using a matched pairs study designed to control for environmental differences among plots, I examined the impact of cattle grazing on the forest understory, canopy trees, and tree regeneration. There were distinct groups of understory species associated with ungrazed and grazed plots. Species associated with ungrazed plots were all native and tended to be perennial herbs with fleshy roots. Ungrazed plots also had species preferring …
Exotic And Invasive Woody Plant Species In Iowa, Donald R. Farrar
Exotic And Invasive Woody Plant Species In Iowa, Donald R. Farrar
Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS
Seventy species and hybrids of exotic woody trees, shrubs, and vines have naturalized in Iowa. Nearly half of these species (31) have become invasive pests in parts of the state or have potential do so. Most of the seriously invasive species are spread by bird ingestion of whole fruits. Widespread dispersal by birds hinders eradication efforts and should be considered a trait indicative of potential invasiveness. The economic and ecological values of Iowa forests are seriously compromised by exotic invasive woody species, especially where forests recovering from cropland and pasture are dominated by exotic species. Thus, a simple measure of …