Sheep Grazing as a Grassland Management Tool: Lessons Learned on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts

摘要: Abstract On Nantucket Island, MA, the present range of coastal sandplain grasslands is primarily attributed to intense and prolonged historic sheep grazing following European settlement. The maintenance this early successional habitat (ranked S-1 or “critically imperiled” in Massachusetts) relies on disturbance-based land-management tools. Habitat management efforts have focused mechanical prescribed fire treatments, with limited emphasis re-introducing sheep. This study examined compared impacts repeated growing-season grazing, mowing, no vegetation community composition a previously managed grassland. Sheep effectively controlled reduced clonal vining woody plant coverage while increasing available bare ground for grassland species seed recruitment. However, mowing treatments resulted an increase weedy agricultural species, which may be inherent side effect that results...