Responses of Tall-Grass Prairie to Anthropogenic Impacts.

Army lands are managed for a complex mixture of land uses and goals.  Goals have been established based off of historic research studies which have focused on single use systems.   Developing land management strategies from a single system approach may significantly skew decisions made for land management activities and or training capacity.  The Army needs a capability to determine outcomes based on complex land management actions to help optimize land use.  In this paper, we present the results of a multi-year study initiated in 2010 by ERDC-CERL to determine tall grass prairie responses to multiple anthropogenic land stressors.  Long term plots were established at Fort Riley, Kansas which was subjected to combined treatments of haying, burning, and military vehicle tracking.  Our initial hypothesis was that interactions would be expressed in changes in   below and above ground biomass and soil strength.   Preliminary findings have shown interesting responses in timing of impacts in relation to above and below ground biomass.  Results from the study will quantify the interaction of impacts from multiple land uses with an end product to land managers that will enable dynamic land management.