Decision support for restoration and management of Service-owned native prairies: Implications for grassland bird communities

Temperate grasslands are considered one of the most altered terrestrial ecosystems in the world. Remaining prairies have been increasingly degraded by fragmentation, encroachment of woody and exotic plants, and suppression or misapplication of defoliation disturbances (e.g., fire, grazing, haying). More than 100,000 ha of native tallgrass and mixed-grass prairies are managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in the northern Great Plains. Although prairies in this region evolved with grazing, fire, and climatic variability, management of FWS grasslands often has been passive and involved extended periods of rest (i.e., no disturbance). Extended rest has been implicated as a contributing factor in large-scale invasions by woody [...]