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Contributed Talk

Session: : Communities: Spatial Patterns And Environmental Gradients 5

COS 100-4 - CANCELLED - Secondary production of the central rangeland region of the United States

Tuesday, August 8, 2023
2:15 PM – 2:30 PM PDT
Location: B119

    Presenting Author(s)

  • ER

    Edward J. Raynor, Ph.D

    Research Scientist
    Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University
    Fort Collins, Colorado, United States

    • Coauthor(s)

  • JD

    Justin D. Derner, Ph.D

    Research Leader
    Rangeland Resources & Systems Research Unit, USDA ARS
    Cheyenne, Wyoming, United States

  • DA

    David Augustine, Ph.D

    Research Scientist
    USDA ARS - Rangeland Resources and Systems Research Unit
    Fort Collins, Colorado, United States

  • DH

    David L. Hoover

    Research Ecologist
    Agricultural Research Service
    Fort Collins, Colorado, United States

  • JH

    John Hendrickson

    Research Rangeland Scientist
    Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, USDA-Agricultural Research Service
    Mandan, North Dakota, United States

  • KH

    Keith Harmoney, Ph.D

    Research Scientist
    Kansas State University
    Hays, Kansas, United States

  • BJ

    Brennan Jameson

    South Dakota State University
    Rapid City, South Dakota, United States

  • CO

    Clenton Owensby, Ph.D

    Professor
    Kansas State University
    Manhattan, Kansas, United States

  • BP

    Bill Parton, Ph.D

    Research Scientist
    Natural Resource Ecology Lab, Colorado State University
    Fort Collins, Colorado, United States

Abstract: Rangelands are the dominant land use across a broad swath of central North America and encompass a wide gradient in mean annual precipitation extending from < 350 to >900 mm. Substantial efforts have examined both spatial and temporal variation in aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) across this environmental gradient. Similar efforts are lacking for net secondary productivity (NSP, sensu livestock production). Here, we used long-term (1991-2019) livestock production data from six sites with histories of conservative stocking across the Central Great Plains to evaluate secondary production relationships with ANPP and precipitation (PPT), as well as trophic efficiencies. Preliminary results reveal PPT mediated a saturating relationship for NSP as sites became more mesic, contrasting ANPP-based investigations. This saturating response suggests biogeochemical (e.g., forage quality) rather than vegetation biomass on offer constraints may govern NSP. Results suggest that regional scenario and modeling efforts incorporating climate change will need to incorporate differential responses for ANPP and NSP along environmental gradients.