hidden
Image Database Export Citations

Menu:

Landowners' Perceptions of Risk in Grassland Management: Woody Plant Encroachment and Prescribed Fire

Show full item record

Type: Journal Article
Author: Harr, Ryan N.; Morton, Lois Wright; Rusk, Shannon R.; Engle, David M.; Miller, James R.; Debinski, Diane
Journal: Ecology and Society
Volume: 19
Page(s):
Date: 2014
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/10535/9455
Sector: Land Tenure & Use
Region: North America
Subject(s): grasslands
risk
perception
fire ecology
Abstract: "Ecologists recognize that fire and herbivory are essential to maintaining habitat quality in grassland ecosystems. Prescribed fire and grazing are typically used on public reserves to increase biodiversity, improve grassland productivity, and control encroachment of woody plants. However, these tools, particularly prescribed fire, have not been widely adopted by private landowners. Fire suppression and prescribed fire are strategies that present competing risks to owners who make management decisions. We explore landowner perceptions of risk associated with (1) eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) encroachment, and (2) the use of prescribed fire to control woody species in the Grand River Grasslands of Iowa and Missouri, USA. We found that although mapping data of eastern redcedar in this region showed substantial encroachment over the past three decades, concept mapping of landowner beliefs and in-person interviews of local community leaders revealed that perceived risks associated with prescribed fire often outweighed those associated with loss of forage and grassland habitats."

Files in this item

Files Size Format View
ES-2013-6404.pdf 1.528Mb PDF View/Open

This item appears in the following document type(s)

Show full item record