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2021 Monitoring Results Sandhills Rangeland Monitoring Cooperative (SRMC)

The SRMC project aims to conduct and evaluate monitoring data on a growing number of ranches in the Nebraska Sandhills, connecting ranchers, scientists, and the public in knowledge exchange relating to rangeland health and management. 2021 monitoring results were compiled and analyzed by region and will be discussed here.

Sandhills Regions

A total of 126 monitoring sites across 14 SRMC ranches made up the 2021 monitoring season. Ranches were grouped into two regions: 1) western sandhills and 2) central/eastern sandhills (see figure below). Five ranches were in the western sandhills and had 45 uplands study sites (n=45), while nine ranches were in the central/eastern sandhills with 91 uplands study sites (n=91).

Bringing the Data Together

Data collected during the 2021 monitoring season (July-September) were made into boxplots and displayed in graphs on the following pages. These graphs show percent cover, frequency of occurrence, and dry weight rank for rangeland plants in upland sites on the 2021 SRMC ranches grouped by region.

What is a boxplot, and how do I interpret it?

A boxplot is a way to display a group of data points by the average, median, upper quartile, lower quartile, minimum, and maximum values as well as the outliers. The figure below describes these terms and outlines how to read a boxplot.

2021 Results by Region

Percent Cover on Uplands

Percent cover describes the percent of the ground surface covered by litter, bare ground, or bases of live plants (basal live veg.) on a site. In sandhills rangelands, prevalent bare ground indicates a risk of wind and water erosion. Litter can act as a beneficial mulch for live vegetation throughout the growing season.

Out of 45 upland sites in the western sandhills region, litter dominated the ground cover with the majority of ranches having between 48-70% with an average of 60%. In the western sandhills, bare ground commonly ranged from about 18-38% with an average of around 23%. Bases of live plants contributed 8-18% of the ground cover, averaging around 14%.
Out of 91 upland sites in the central sandhills region, litter again dominated ground cover with the majority of ranches having between 58-72% with an average of 67%. In the central sandhills, bare ground commonly ranged from about 9-30% with an average of around 20%. Bases of live plants were mostly found to be between 12-21% of the ground cover, averaging around 15%.

Comments on 2021 Percent Cover Results

On both western and the central sandhills ranches, litter was the dominant component of ground cover on uplands, dunetops, and slopes, with the maximums reaching between 79 and 85%. Average and maximum bare ground tended to be higher on the western sandhills upland sites, while basal live vegetation were similar in both regions.

Frequency of Occurrence

Frequency of occurrence monitoring can pick up trends and changes in rangeland vegetation. It highlights how commonly a species is observed across a site. If you put a grid of quadrats along a landscape, it depicts the percent frequency at which you would see these species.

Out of the 45 upland sites in the western sandhills region, the top 3 most frequent species include prairie sandreed, sedge, and sand bluestem. The height of the boxes in the graph above indicates variability in that species. Blue grama, for example, has a maximum of 100% and a minimum of 0%, meaning that it is highly variable and can exist at a very high frequency or not at all within this region. (Click on the graph above to see it larger)
Out of the 91 upland sites in the central sandhills region, the top 3 most frequent species include sedge, little bluestem, and scribners rosette grass, with western ragweed, sand bluestem, and prarie sandreed not far behind. Noticeably, scribners rosette grass has high variability and exists on some sites with 100% frequency while not at all on others. (Click on the graph above to see it larger)

Dry Weight Rank

Dry weight rank (DWR) is a visual semi qualitative measure of the amount that each plant contributes to total plant production. It is a way to estimate species composition in terms of production by dry weight. It will highlight the most productive species in the area.

Out of the 45 upland sites in the western sandhills region, the top 3 species by dry weight include prairie sandreed, sand bluestem, and sand dropseed.
Out of the 91 upland sites in the central sandhills region, the top 3 species by dry weight include little bluestem, needle grasses, and prairie sandreed.

How to Use Monitoring Results

There are a number of ways you can interpret and use monitoring data, whether you have a single year or many years of data. One way is to compare your data to the target plant communities highlighted in the NRCS state and transition models for the ecological site you are monitoring. Monitoring data can help detect changes in plant communities over time and may highlight plant responses to grazing management strategies. The compiled data displayed here can be used when reviewing your own monitoring results by comparing your values with the averages, maximums, and minimums in your region. In this way you may be able to detect needs for reassessing management practices based on your goals (https://globalrangelands.org/topics/maintaining-and-improving-rangelands/rangeland-monitoring).