Annual Mowing of a Grassland Had Minimal Effect on Botanic Composition during a Period of Changed Climate (or Prolonged Drought)

2010·1.8 MB·English

Research Reports
Annual mowing ofa grassland had minimal effect on botanic
composition during a period ofchanged climate
(or prolonged drought)
Bill Semple', Terry Koen’’^ and Madeleine Rankin^
'37PopesRd,Junortoun,Victoria3551
^NSWDepartmentofEnvironment,ClimateChangeandWater,POBox445,CowraNSW2794
^Correspondingauthor.Email:[email protected]\v.gov.au
Abstract
Prolonged drought, as has been experienced over much ofthe wheat-sheep (or grassy woodland) zone of
southernNewSouthWalesduringapproximatelythelast 15years,isequivalenttoa changeinclimaticzone
fromsubhuinidtosemi-arid.Oneofthesymptomsofthisislessreliablerainfall,particularlyduringthenor-
mallydependableautumn-winterperiod.Asdemonstratedbytheresultsofa7-yearexperimentinagrassland
nearMolong inCentralWesternNSW,thischange,ifpermanentratherthantemporary,hasimplicationsfor
ecological experiments that aim to change botanic composition usingvarious manipulatory techniques. At
Molong,significantdifferencesinbotaniccomposition wereevidentovertimebutnotbetweentreatments. It
issuggestedthatthisresultcanbeexplainedbytheprevailingrainfallregimeduringtheperiodofobservation
and that differentresultsmayhavebeenobtainedifrainfall hadbeen morecloselyaligned tothelong-term
average. (TheVictorianNaturalist127(5),2010,168-173).
Keywords;cool-seasonrainfall,derivedgrassland,gap-creation, mowing
Introduction
On the inland slopes and plains from central ofapermanentchange in climate, is stillbeing
New South Wales (NSW) to Victoria, cool- debated. However, as noted by Read (1994),
season (autumn andwinter) rainfall is a major prolonged drought results in at least a tempo-
driver of landscape processes. These include rarychangeinclimate;and,inthewheat-sheep
the refilling ofwetlands, the flush ofgrowth of belt, this has resulted in a change from a pre-
cool-season plant species, and the replenish- dominantly subhumid climate to a semi-arid
ment ofsubsoil moisture for growth ofwarm- climate.
season species over summer when rainfall A characteristic ofmany semi-arid and arid
is less effective. A key feature of cool-sea—son lands is high variability in annual rainfall that
rainfall in this area has been its reliability a results in varying levels ofabundance ofplant
featurethatalsohaspermittedsuccessfulfarm- species in thegroundstorey with time. In their
inginthe ‘wheat-sheep’belt,thesubhumidcli- summing-up ofvegetation ecology and man-
maticzone (usageaccordingtoRead 1994)for- agement in Australia’s rangelands, Harrington
merlyoccupiedbygras.sywoodlands; however, et al. (1984: 60) emphasised the differences
in recent years, cool-season rainfall has been between reliable andunreliable climatesasfol-
far from reliable. An analysis (Semple et al. in lows:
press) of cool-season (March-August) rainfall ‘In a reliable climate ... it is po.ssible to plan a
from 1885-2008atCowraNSWindicatedthat, grazing and/or fire management regime which
in terms ofrainfall received andthefrequency isresponsivetotherainfallregimeand takesinto
ofbelow average* seasons, the 15-year period accountthelife-historiesofthekeyplantspecies,
1994-2008wasdrierthananyotherequivalent andtherebyobtainameasureofcontroloverthe
periodsincerecordscommenced.Whetherthis composition ofthe plant community. In unreli-
can be considered another prolonged drought ableclimatestheacquisitionofsuchknowledgeis
like those that occurredatthe turn ol the 19th muchmoredifficultbecauseanyparticularrunof
centuryandinthemid-20thcentury,oraresult rainfall events is infrequently repeated and may
giveaneffectivelyuniquevegetationresponse.’
•Throughoutthisreport,‘average’isequivalenttomean.
168 TheVictorianNaturalist
Research Reports
The effects ofdrought on components ofthe different species would be favoured whereas
flora include failure to germinate, germination otherswouldbediscouragediftheywereseed-
followed byearly death, reduced seedproduc- ingatthetime mowingoccurred. All slashwas
tion, and death of perennial species. When removed, as this was considered to discourage
aggravated by chronic overgrazing, a perma- exotics (e.g. see Verrier and Kirkpatrick 2005)
nent change in groundstorey composition andcouldbecomparedtocrash grazingwhere
may occur, as has been reported in the semi- selectivegrazingisnegated.
arid rangelands (e.g. Noble 1997). Rains do An implicit assumption at the time the ex-
occur during prolonged drought but in lower perimentcommencedin 1999wasthat rainfall
mm
amounts during the season when they are ex- would be ‘average’, i.e. approximately 350
pected (atleastin mostyears),andheavyrain- in the cool season with a similar, though less
falls may occur at unexpected times (e.g. see effective amount, in the warm-season. As can
warm-season rainfall for 2005/06 in Fig. 1). In be seen from Fig. 1, this did not occur. Severe
thelattercase,somespeciesmaybeadvantaged deficiencies occurred in 2002 and 2006, and
bylowgroundcoverand/ortheabsenceofspe- cool-season rainfall was below average every
ciesthatnormallywouldbepresent. yearafter2001.
Thisraisesthequestionofwhethertheresults
Methods
andconclusionsof‘paddock-scale’experiments
Theexperimentalareawasdividedinto 18con-
cs(iae.rea.rsitoehndorsoaeuintifnaivlnlolwmvaoisrngeadabeseqsnueiamgtbnelaatginemdsesro,efawoshrogneaannbilcsyomorsle)-- tsaiinxgnuutoarulesamt6momewnitXsn.5gmTihnpeleoifttisvh:eetrhmrmoeiewdir-nosgwusmtm(rebelrao,tcmkemsn)itdso-,f
liable,areapplicableduringaprolongedperiod autumn, mid-winter, mid spring, or mid-
soufltusnroeflfiiaeblldeexrapienrfailmle.ntCosncvaerrrsieeldy,ouwtililntthheelraes-t autumn -t mid-spring, and unmown were
10 or 15 yearsbe applicablewhen or ifrainfall randomly allocated to plots in each block. At
each mowing, herbage was cut to a height of
returns to a level that is more closely aligned approximately4 cm and clippings removed by
withthelong-termaverage?
Among the paddock-scale experiments hand raking. Treatments were applied in the
relevant season(s) from summer 1999/2000
that could be affected by a change in climate
to spring 2007. Abundance ofspecies in each
(temporary or permanent) are those relatively
plot was assessed in December 2000, October
long-term studies that attempt to manipulate
groundstorey composition by one-off or se- 2001, November 2003 and October 2005 us-
ing Outhred’s frequency-scores as described
quential biomass-removing di.sturbances such
as crash grazing, burning and mowing. Such by Morrison et al. (1995) [obtained by laying
out seven rectangular quadrats that increased
disturbances create canopy gaps that, depend-
ingon thetimeofyeartheyarccreatedandon geometrically in size from the inner to outer-
thetypeofgroundstorey,maybebeneficial(e.g. most quadrat, and recordingpresence/absence
Morgan 1998) or deleterious (e.g. Lunt 1990) ofrooted plants ofeach species in each quad-
for biodiversity conservation. Gap-creation rat]. Individual species in each plot were also
assessed semi-quantitatively using a modified
exercisesarelikelytobeineffectivein environ-
mentsthatarelimitedbylowrainfall(e.g.semi- Braun-Blanquet 0-7 cover-abundance scale in
October2007.
aridrangelands)and/orlowfertility,asgapsare
usuallyalreadypresent (Lunt2007). Aftereliminating 11 species recorded in only
One site selected forsuchan experimentwas oneplotandononlyoneoccasion,theremain-
in derived grassland in an unused part of the ingspecieswereexaminedintwoways:
cemetery at Garra, 10 km west-south-west Thedatamatrixofthe71 specieswasconvert-
of Molong, on the Central Western Slopes of edtoasimilaritymatrixusingBrayCurtissimi-
iNcSsW(.a Tprhoebasibtleewcaosnsfeerqtiulee,ncdeomoifnagrtaezdinbgymeaxonty ElaRrit(yVecoresfifoinci5e)ntsstactoisnttiacailnepdacwkiatghein(CthlearPkeRIaMn-d
Gorley 2001) and analysed using non-metric
years previously) and Speargrasses {Austrosti-
pa* spp.). It was hypothesised that, depending Multi-DimensionalScaling(MDS).Thedegree
onthetimethat gapswere createdbymowing, ofassociation ofindividual plant species with
thetreatmentsandtimesandtheirinteractions
*BotanicalnomenclaturefollowsthatofHarden(1990-93). wasmeasuredbyIndicatorSpeciesAnalysisus-
Vol 127 (5) 2010 169
Research Reports
Fig. 1.Cool(March-August)andwarm(Septcmber-February)seasonrainfallatMolong(BureauofMeteorol-
ogyStation065023)priortoandduringthemowingexperimentatGarra.Thickenedlineindicateslongterm
(1884-2007)seasonalmeans.Arrowindicatestheinitiationofmowing.
ingPC-ORD (McCuneandMefford 1999).The were not detected except for the small group
indicator value is maximal (IV=100) when all ot native annuals/biennials. Visual inspec-
individuals ofa given species are restricted to tion of the graph of the latter (Fig. 2a) sug-
aparticular treatmentor time, and allsamples gestedthatdifferenceswerehighestinlate2005
from the particular treatment or time contain whenmean frequency-scoresinthespringand
anoccurrenceofthatspecies. autumn+sprin—g mowing were elevated relative
Univariateanalysisofvariancewasperformed tothecontrol atrendthatalsowasevidentin
on mean frequency-scores and mean numbers thecover-abundancedataforlate2007.
ofspecieswithinspeciesgroups,viz.nativeper- A distinctive feature of the results was the
ennials (33 species across all plots and times), number ofspecies that were recorded in only
nativeannuals/biennials(6species),exoticper- one or two seasons. Of the 82 species/species
ennials(6species)andexoticannuals/biennials groups that were observed in the four quan-
(26 species). titative observations, together with another
two that were observed only in the last (semi-
Results
quantitative) observation in 2007, 25 were
Differences in species composition between infrequently-recorded: 13 in only one season
treatmentswereundetectableuntil2005whena and 12inonlytwoseasons.Atthelastobserva-
mmaorwginnaclondtirfofleraenndceth(ePt=re0a.t06m)enbtewtiwtehenthtehheiugnh-- tiinofnreiqnu2e0n0t7l,y-2r9ecsopercdieedsg(roofuwph)icwher1e7awbesreentinatnhde
est level of disturbance, v\z. spring-rautumn 12ofthesewerealso absentatthepreviousob-
mowing,wasevident. servationin2005.Amongstthelast-mentioned
However, the occurrence and abundance of weretheoncerelativelycommonweeds.Viper’s
manyspecieswasverytime-dependent.TheIn- Bugloss Echium viilgare, Salsify Tragopogon
dicatorSpeciesAnalysisshowedthattheabun- porrifolius andTwiggyMullein Verhascurn vir-
dances ofapproximately halfthe species were
gatum.
significantly higher (P < 0.05) in a particular
year: for eight species in 2000, another six in Discussionandconclusions
2001, threein2003 and 15in 2005. The results suggest that the effects of annual
Univariate analyses also indicated significant mowingindifferentseasonshadminimaleffect
differences (P< 0.001) in the mean frequency- on species composition over a 7-year period.
scores within allspecies groups over time (e.g. Some minor differences between treatments
Fig. 2) and in the mean numbers of species were evident in 2005, but whether they were
within the groups, except for exotic perenni- a result ofcumulative mowing effects (as was
als. Differences between treatments (P < 0.05) expected) orseasonaleffects(2005wasanunu-
170 TheVictorianNaturalist
Research Reports
(b)Natweperennials
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 20(B 2006
Fig. 2. Mean (n = 3) frequency-scores for(a) nativeannuals/biennialsand (b) nativeperennialsin all treat-
ments at Garra from mid December 2000 to late October 2005. Fprobabilities from ANOVA for mowing
treatmenteffect,timeeffectandtheirinteractionareshownwithineachgraph.
sual year with well above-average spring rain- aresultthatW'ouldbeexpectedinamoresemi-
fall) isuncertain. aridregionsubjecttovariablerainfall.
There are a number ofpos.sible explanations The most likely explanation for the lack of
forthelackoftreatmenteffects. Firstly,itcould expected differences between treatments was
be argued that the monitoring technique was the variable and often below-average rainfall
insufficiently sensitive to detect changes in that prevailed formost ofthe time the experi-
species composition. The methodology put ment was carried out. This is not a novel ex-
the observerincloseproximity withtheplants planation. Following pasture manipulation,
present in each plot and it is believed that all including slashing, experiments at four sites
species present 3vere detected. However, the during 1993-96, Garden et al. (2000) reported
process was somewhat destructive, particular- minimal differencebetweentreatmentsandat-
ly during dry times, and was the main reason tributed the result to prevailing drought. With
whythetechniquewasdiscontinuedafter2005. respectto two sites,theynoted thatchangesin
Furthermore,thetechniquedidnotdistinguish pasturecompositionoccurredonly‘whenrain-
between healthy plants and those that were fallreturnedtoaverageoraboveaverageafterat
drought-affected. least 12monthsofdrought’(Gardenetal.2000:
Secondly, the annual (and in one treatment, 243).Perhapsthemarginaldifferencesbetween
biannual) mowings mayhavebeen too benign treatmentsthatweobserved in 2005were akin
tohavehadanymeasurableeffect.Thiswasun- tothis.
likely, as the aim ofthe mowing was to create Without sufficient rainfall at appropriate
gapsinthevegetationandtoremoveseedheads times, itisunlikelythatgapswillbe fullycolo-
atparticulartimes oftheyear, however, as dis- nisedanditwasnotedatGarrathatasdrycon-
cussed below, seedhead production was sea- ditions intensified after 2001 there was always
sonallyvariableand gapswerenotalways fully somebareground(gaps)inthetreatmentplots;
exploited. In any case, even biennial mowing sointhisrespect,anyonetreatmentwasmuch
has been reported to affectgrassland structure thesameasanother. Furthermore, theproduc-
and species (albeit cryptogam) composition tion ofseedheads was variable over time, par-
(O'Bryanetal. 2009). ticularlyin thecaseofSpeargrasseswhereseed
Thirdly, it could be argued that the type of crops were minimal in some years. Removing
groundstorey, e.g. with a preponderance of seedheads by mowing and raking at the time
naturalised species, was inherently stable and they were normally produced would have had
unlikely to change. Yet this was not the case little differential effect if few seedheads were
as groundstorey composition changed signifi- presentanyway. Furthermore,Speargrassescan
cantlyfromyeartoyearregardlessoftreatment. reappearaftersuitablerainfalldespitebeingab-
Vol 127 (5) 2010 171
Research Reports
sent for many years, suggesting that they have case of exceptionally prolonged drought that
persistentseedbanks (Griceand Barchia 1992). occurs once in a century, we clearly do not
Hence, raking maynot havehadadramaticef- have sufficient information — unless we are
fecton subsequentgermination. prepared to e.xtrapolate findings from adjacent
More importantly, however, was that the drierclimatic zones.
abundance of many species was significantly Foryears, farmersand graziers havebeen ad-
aligned with a particular season; i.e. the com- vised (e.g. Healheote 1969) that droughts are
position ofthe groundstorey in all treatments, normal events for which they should be pre-
including the control, was changing through- pared. Followingeachofthedroughtsofrecent
out the period ofobservation. This was more years, information, predominantly anecdotal,
consistent with observations in semi-arid and hasbeencompiledinto‘effectsandlessonsfrom
arid areas where groundstorey composition the drought’ publications (e.g. Malikides et al.
can vary markedlyfrom yearto year. Different 1969; Austin el al. 1995). As a resultofpredic-
plant functional groups use water at different tions of more frequent and severe droughts
times, and vary in the efficiency with which due to ‘climate change’ (e.g. Stokes et al. 2008),
theyuse rainfallofdifl'eringduration, intensity adviceon drought effectshasbecomemore ur-
and amount (Westoby 1979/80). 'Ihis creates gent. Yetwhat do experimental field ecologists
opportunities for different communities to de- do when the expected rains do not occur dur-
velop in responseto differing modes and types ingtheirusual3-yeartime frame?Somearead-
ofrainfall, favouringdifferent suites ofspecies visedbytheirsupervisorsto irrigate theirplots
depending on the rainfall. Increasing rainfall ‘up to average rainfall’ orcarryout concurrent
variabilityincreasesthedominancebyannuals, glasshouse pot trials. Altering e.xperiments in
and studies ofannuals in more arid areas (e.g. such a way may mean that we lose the oppor-
Tobeetal. 2005),indicatethatrainfallregimeis tunitytolearn moreabouttheconsequencesof
the mostcritical factoraffectingvariableestab- amorevariableandsub-averagerainfall regime
lishmentsuccessesofdifferentannual species. onmoremesicecosystems.Neverthelessweac-
Wedonotknowto whatextentresultsofthis knowledge that some specifically drought-ori-
experiment would have been different in ‘nor- ented ecological reports have been published
mal’orevenhighrainfallyearsandwearemost recently (e.g. Croft et al. 2007; McKeon et al.
reluctant to generalise our findings to those 2009)andhopefullymorewill follow.
conditions. We suspect, however, that much of Much can be learned about the response of
what we observed at Garra was a consequence moremesicvegetationcommunitiestoreduced
ofvariableandoften insufficientrainfallaswell and more variable rainfall by observing how
asaprogressivedryingofthesite. semi-aridplantcommunitiesrespondtorainfall
Ourresultsareprobablymoreconsistentwith variability. InthecaseofourstudyatGarra,the
expectations from the semi-arid zone (Mott plant community e.xhibited a response to rain-
1972)thanfrom the.siibhumidtohumidzones. fall that was typical ofa semi-a—rid community.
In the former, changes in a chronic manage- Result—sofstudiessuch as ours even if‘nega-
ment regime m—ay take a longer period to be- tive’ may provide valuable guidance if the
come evident or, as noted by Westobyetal. change in climate from subhumid to semi-arid
(1989), be particularly dependent on an infre- becomespermanentratherthan temporary.
quentenvironmentalevent.
Acknowledgements
ouRregsaurgdgleesstsioon,fvwihze.tthheart tohrenroetsulrtesadmearys bacecaepp-t pTialretemxepnetriioifieNnaltwuraaslfuRnesdoeudrbcyesth(epafrotrmoefrwNhiScWhDhea-s
plicable to another (less favourable) rainfall since been incorporated within the Department of
zone than the one in which thesite was nomi- Environment, Climate Change and Water) with the
nallylocated,aquestionremains:aretheresults supportol'theCabonneCouncil.)ohnYoungandIan
ofexperiments carried out during drought rel- ColeassistedinthefieldandDavidEldridgeanalysed
some ofthe data. David Eldridge and David Cheal
evant to ecology? In the case of an ‘ordinary provided valuable commentary on the manuscript.
drought’ or an extended dryperiod extending Thankstoyouall.
across one ortwo years, ourknowledge is per-
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Onehundredyearsago
EXCURSIONTOWESTWARBURTON
A.D. Hardy
From“TheRock,”insuitableweather,amagnificentviewcanbeobtained,andforthisalonetheclimbis
justified. Thedaywastoo hazyto makeout through ourfield-glasses anyoftheprominent, land-marks
ofMelbourne, fortymilesaway, but thepinetrees on thehillat Ringwood were distinctlyvisible, while
MountsMacedonandSawBaw,aboutahundredmilesapart,boundedourviewtothewestandeast.To
the north thesharpconeofMt.St. Leonardwasjustvisiblethrough thetrees. Welooked over“Nyora,”
andMalleson’sLook-outtoHealesvillc,butthemostdelightfulviewwasdownintotheYarravalley,nearly
threethousandfeetbelow us, wherethe threetownships ofWestWarburton, Millgrove,andWarburton
wereprominent features. An apparentlylevel ridgeled round eastwards to Donna-Buang, while south-
wardsrangeandvalleysucceededoneanotherasfarastheeyecouldreach.ThepositionofGilderoy,where
wehadintendedtoexplore,couldjustbemadeoutamongtherangesabouttenmilestothesouth-east.We
returnedbyamoredirectroute,andfromtheDeevalleybroughtawayseveralspeciesoffernsandseedling
plants,includingan Eriostemon,probablyE.squamens,someofwhicharedestinedtofindtheirwayinto
publicgardensafteraperiodofpot-life.
FromTheVictorianNaturalistXXVI,pp. 188-189,April, 1910
Vol 127 (5) 2010 173