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OSU NREM Patch Burning Research

Oklahoma State University works in multiple locations in Oklahoma to research different patch burning research methods on an area.

A green map of Oklahoma with five counties colored dark green and lableled 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

 

OSU Research Range (1)

Location: Payne County, 8 miles west and 2.5 miles south of Stillwater, OK

Land Owner: Oklahoma State University

Date Initiated: 1999

Plots: 6, 160 acre units

Treatments: 3 units - grazed, burned every three years; 3 units - grazed, patch burned (6 patches) spring and summer every year

Grazing Animal: Stocker cattle 1999-2001, cow/calf 2001-present

 

Publications From Area

  • Cummings, D.C., S.D. Fuhlendorf, and D.M. Engle. 2007. Is altering grazing selectivity of invasive forage species with patch burning more effective than herbicide treatments? Rangeland Ecology and Management 60:253-260
  • Fuhlendorf, S.D. and D.M. Engle. 2001. Restoring heterogeneity on rangelands: ecosystem management based on evolutionary grazing patterns. Bioscience 51:625-632
  • Fuhlendorf, S.D. and D.M. Engle. 2004. Application of the fire-grazing interaction to restore a shifting mosaic on tallgrass prairie. Journal of Applied Ecology. 41:604-614
  • Townsend II, D.E. 2004. Ecological heterogeneity: evaluating small mammal communities, soil surface temperature and artificial nest success within grassland ecosystems. Ph.D. dissertation, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK.
  • Tunnell, T.R. 2002. Effects of Patch Burning on Livestock Performance and Wildlife Habitat on Oklahoma Rangelands. M.S. Thesis, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK.

 

OSU Research Range


Tallgrass Prairie Preserve (2)

Location: Osage County, 8 miles north of Pawhuska, OK

Land Owner: The Nature Conservancy

Date Initiated: 1993

Plots:

Treatments: 

Grazing Animal: Bison in bison unit, stocker cattle in cattle units

 

Publications From Area

 

Tallgrass Prairie Preserve


Marvin Klemme Range Research Station (3)

Location: Washita County, 10 miles south and 5 miles west of Clinton, OK

Land Owner: Oklahoma State University

Date Initiated: 1999

Plots: 4, 120 acre units 

Treatments: 2 units - grazed and no burn; 2 units - grazed and patch burned (4 patches) every year in the spring

Grazing Animal: Stocker cattle

 

Publications from Area

  • Fuhlendorf, S.D. and D.M. Engle. 2001. Restoring heterogeneity on rangelands: ecosystem management based on evolutionary grazing patterns. Bioscience 51: 625-632

Cooper Wildlife Management Area (4)

Location: Woodward County, 4 miles south of Ft. Supply, OK

Land Owner: Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation

Date Initiated: 1999-2002 and 2005-present

Plots: 

  • 1999-2002 - 24 10 acre (4-ha) patches
  • 2005-present - 3 pastures

1999-2000 Treatments: 

4 pastures with 6 10-acre (4ha) patches

  • 2 patches burned fall
  • 2 patches burned spring
  • 2 patches unburned

2005-Present Treatments:

  • 3 pastures with approximately 1/3 burned each spring

Grazing Animal: Stocker cattle

 

Publications from this Area

  • Vermeire, L.T., R.B. Mitchell, and S.D. Fuhlendorf. 2000. Sand sagebrush response to fall and spring prescribed burns. In: McArthur, E. Durant; Fairbanks, Daniel J., Proceedings: Shrubland Ecosystem Genetics and Biodiversity; 2000 June 13-15; Provo, UT. Proceedings: RMRS-P-000.
  • Ogden, UT; Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 
    Vermeire, L.T. 2002. The fire ecology of sand sagebrush-mixed prairie in the southern Great Plains. Ph.D. thesis. Texas Tech Univ., Lubbock.
  • Vermeire, L.T., R.B. Mitchell, S.D. Fuhlendorf and R.L. Gillen. 2004. Patch Burning Effects on Grazing Distribution. Journal of Range Management 57:248-252
  • Vermeire, L.T., D.B. Wester, R.B. Mitchell, and S.D. Fuhlendorf. 2005. Fire and grazing effects on wind erosion, soil water content, and soil temperature. Journal of Environmental Quality 34:1559-1565

Cross Timbers Experimental Range (5)

Location: Payne County, 7 miles west, 2 miles south, 1 mile east of Stillwater, OK

Land Owner: Oklahoma State University

Date Initiated: 2007

Plots: 1, 1760 acre unit

Treatments: 18 patches

  • 3 - spring burn every 2 years
  • 3 - spring burn every 3 years
  • 3 - spring burn every 5 years
  • 3 - summer burn every 2 years
  • 3 - summer burn every 3 years
  • 3 - summer burn every 5 years

Grazing Animal: Cow/Calf


Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge (6)

Location: Comanche County, 25 miles northwest of Lawton

Land Owner: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, US Department of Interior

Date Initiated: 2006

Grazing Animal: Bison, Elk and Longhorn Cattle

 

Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

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