Infographics

Rare Trees in the Oklahoma Prairie 1893
“The men folks, once a month drove 20 miles to the south by a stream where the blackjack trees grew, to gather fallen trees for our wood supply. To make this wood go further, they also hauled in loads of well-dried cow chips, which burned well along with the wood."

• Alta H. Hoyt, 1893, NE of Cherokee, OK

Alfalfa County Oklahoma
1893 trees were hard to find
2021 acres covered in trees were 33,840 (6% of the county)
Woody plant encroachment decreases livestock forage and habitat for prairie wildlife.
Quote: We Were Pioneers
Photo: W. S. David Collection, Oklahoma Historical Society Research Division

45 Years of Grazing in Texas (1948 - 1993)
Ashe Juniper Frequency
32.5 : Heavy - continuous grazing with cows sheep & goats
26.2 : Moderate - rotational grazing with cows, sheep & goats
9.9 : Browse - continuous grazing with 23 yrs goats only, 21 yrs goats, cows & sheep
32.2 : No Livestock
CATTLE grazing doesn't control trees.
Ashe juniper was similar in mainly cattle pastures & no livestock pastures.
GOAT browsing does control trees.
Ashe juniper was lowest in goat browsed pastures vs grazed or ungrazed pastures.
UNGRAZED GRASSES don't outcompete trees.
Ashe juniper was similar in no livestock pastures & heavily grazed pastures & moderately grazed pastures.
Allred et al. 2012 Herbivore species and grazing intensity regulate community composition and an encroaching woody plant in semi-arid rangeland [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2012.02.007](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2012.02.007)

Resprouting Woody Plants
Black Locust & Honey Locust
Black Locust (Robina pseudoacacia)
Leaves: compound, rounded leaflets
Spines: paired at leaf base, single point
Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)
Leaves: double compound, oblong leaflets
Thorns: on branches or trunk, multiple points
Cutting or burning alone causes resprouting!
Sucker from stumps AND roots.
Herbicide Treatments

• treat leaves with triclopyr, glyphosate, picloram, or picloram+2,4-D
• basal bark with triclopyr on small trees
• treat cut stump with triclopyr

Northern Bobwhite Survival: Do Shrubs & Trees Matter?

Shrubs

Chance of Survival is HIGHEST Closer to Shrubs

- 77% Chance of Survival (108 ft from shrubs)

- 31% Chance of Survival (535 ft from shrubs)

Percent chance of survival is graphed by distance from shrubs.

Trees

Chance of Survival is HIGHEST Farther from Trees

- 67% Chance of Survival (0 ft from trees)

- 89% Chance of Survival (1,000 ft from trees)

Percent chance of survival is graphed by distance from tree.

Thompson et al. 2022 Northern Bobwhite Demographics and Resource Selection Are Explained by Prescribed Fire with Grazing and Woody Cover in Southwest Missouri 

https://doi.org/10.7290/nqsp09hN

Bring me... a Shrubbery!

We are the knights who say "bobwhite"!

See some of the shrubs that quail need ->

Bring me A Shrubbery!

Quail use different shrub species during extreme heat and cold.

Sandplum (Prunus angustifolia)

- Used most during COLD weather (near 0°F)

Skunkbush Sumac (Rhus aromatica)

- Used most during HOT weather (near 100°F)

Shinnery Oak (Quercus havardii)

- Common winter NIGHT ROOST

Quail Roost Selection

Roost sites moderated temperatures and had...

- more woody cover

- more bare ground

- less grass cover

Quail decreased use of shrub patches larger than 5 acres.

Check out the report! https://bit.ly/QuailResearchWesternOK

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Brush Piles are SAFEST to Burn in May/June

Early simmer is ideal because green pastures are unlikely to ignite & weather is favorable.

Ideal PASTURE Conditions

- Low risk of spotfires, slow to spread if they occur because of the pastures actively growing.

Ideal WEATHER Conditions

Recommended Relative Humidity >40%

Wednesday May 7th

- 7:00 am - 88-100%

- 7:00 pm - 51-96%

Recommended Wind Speeds <15 mph

Wednesday May 7th

- 7:00 am - 0-14 mph

- 7:00 pm - 1-14 mph

Maps from OK-Fire: https://mesonet.org/index.php/okfire/home

Burnin' for Butterflies
Patch Burn Grazing Creates a Mosaic of Habitat Types
0-1 Years Since Fire
Greatest Number of Butterfly Species
Grazing Highly Preferred (focused grazing)
1-3 Years Since Fire
Greatest Number of Individual Butterflies
1-2 Years Since Fire
Common Wood0Nymph (Cercyonis pegala)
Monarch (Danaus plexippus)
Arogos Skipper (Atrytone arogos)
Grazing Somewhat Preferred (some grazing(
2-3 Years Since Fire
Reakirt's Blue (Echinargus isola)
Grazing Unpreferred (mostly ungrazed)
Geest et al. 2023 Patch-burn management affects grassland butterfly communities in cattle-grazed rangelands https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12641
Photo of Arogos Skipper: Dennis Vollmar
Used & edited under CC BY 4.0

Adding goats to cattle herds

- mimics historic use

- increases use of woody plants

Bygone Grazers: Historical Accounts of Lost Browsers & Grazers

Elk - 1804, Dixon County, NE - Lewis and Clark Expedition

"1 elk killed; 2 elk observed swimming across the Missouri River"

Elk - 1806, Smith County, KS - Zebulon Pike

"In about a mile we discovered a herd of elk which we pursued."

Pronghorn - 1806, Lyon & Coffey Counties, KS - Zebulon Pike

"[We] killed one carbie (pronghorn), two deer and two turkeys"

Elk & Pronghorn - 1832, Cimarron River, OK - Washington Irving

"..tracks of... elk, deer, antelope, bears, raccoons, turkey and waterfowl were numerous at the edge of the river."

Bison - 1819, Potato Hills, Latimer County, OK - Thomas Nuttall

"Herds of bison roamed the prairie and bolted as the soldiers gave chase.."

Elk & Bison - 1800, Brazos River, TX - Ellis P. Bean

"..we found elk and deer plenty, some buffalo and wild horses by the thousands."

Elk - 1842, Starr County, TX - William Stapp

"... deer, elk, turkeys and Mexican hogs are found in abundance.."

Read more about multi-species grazing here! https://www.theprairieproject.org

U.S. Forest Service Collaboration!
Woody encroachment on the Caddo National Grasslands.
The U.S. Forest Service is using fire & grazing to suppress woody plants and restore grassland diversity.
GOATS

• 200-300 goats/acre (electronet fencing)
• Moved daily (>1 year of rest)

WOODY PLANTS EATEN

• Winged Elm (Ulmus alata)
• Greenbriar (Smilax spp)
• Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos)
• Osage Orange/Bois d'Arc (Maclura pomifera)
• Blackberry (Rubus spp)

U.S. Forest Service

Cattle Prices Throughout the Year
Cattle Seasonal Price Index
Southern Plains 2014 - 2023
Utility Cows

• highest in June/July, lowest in November/December

Fed Steers (1,100 - 1,400 pounds)

• Highest January - May, lowest in September

Feeder Steers (700 - 800 pounds

• Highest in August/September, lowest in March/April

Steer Calves (500 - 600 pounds)

• Highest in March and again in August, lowest in October and December

Cedar Encroachment & Water Demand
Central North Canadian Watershed Tree Cover Change over 38 Years
Rangeland Analysis Platform Tree Cover Maps
1986: 7% Tree Cover
2024: 17% Tree Cover
A 2017 study found that...
if 20% of the watershed grasslands were converted to eastern redcedar
it would result in a reduction of streamflow discharge equivalent to...
27% of current water demand for the Oklahoma City Metro
Data used to simulate effects of encroachment include weather, stream discharge, topography, soil types, soil properties, and land cover.
Starks & Moriasi 2017 Impact of Eastern redcedar encroachment on stream discharge in the North Canadian River basin. [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2489/jswc.72.1.12](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2489/jswc.72.1.12)

The Problem.
Woody plant encroachment is the single biggest threat to livestock production in the Great Plains. It also affects primary production, hydrology, nutrient cycling, and biodiversity. In this map, you can see the changes in tree cover from 1986 to 2020.
The Prairie Project is studying solutions (multi-species grazing & patch-burn grazing) and educating the public on the detrimental impacts of woody encroachment across Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska.
To see tree cover in your area, go to the Rangeland Analysis Platform www.rangelands.app
#rangelands #prescribedfire #multispeciesgrazing #pyricherbivory #brushremoval Oklahoma State University Natural Resources Extension

Clear Fencelines Make Good Neighbors
Before
Cooksley ranch was mostly intact but was receiving seed dispersal from cedar encroached areas on the neighboring property.
After
Neighbors removed trees on their property within 200 yards of the fenceline.
"My neighbors cleared every cedar tree within 200 yards of our ranch to reduce the vulnerability on our side of the fence" -Barb Cooksley, Cooksley Ranch
For more success stories, click here [https://bit.ly/WoodyEncroachmentPocketGuide](https://bit.ly/WoodyEncroachmentPocketGuide)

Conservative and flexible stocking rates lead to productive and resilient rangelands!
For more about this topic, visit https://www.theprairieproject.org/ along with more informative factsheets about how to manage rangelands!
West Texas Rangelands

Check out the 2020 statistics for beef, goat, and sheep production in the Southern Great Plains!
Over 31% of the nation’s beef cows, meat goats, and sheep are raised in Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Kansas.
But did you know you can increase the livestock production from your rangeland pastures by incorporating mixed-species like sheep or goats because of the different plants they select? This strategy has been slow to spread across the region due to predation, infrastructure and commodity price fluctuations. However, the U.S. is importing more sheep and goat meat than we produce, making now the time to consider integrating these practices into your operation!
*Meat goat data for Nebraska not published due to confidentiality reasons.
Data provided by USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.

The Cross Timbers & Fire
Mosaic of prairie & forest where...

• oaks dominate in coarse sandy soil
• grasses dominate fine clays & loams

"...maintained for thousands of years by fire:... historic fire return interval was likely 1 to 10 years."
Historical Process: Oak Savannah (fire)
1. Sparse trees allows grass understory to grow
2. Grass fuels regular fire
3. Intense fire kills seedlings & top kills larger woody plants
4. Savannah kept open
5. Large oaks & grass remain
Current Process: Oak Forest (no fire)
1. Grasses are shaded out
2. Understory mostly leaf litter
3. Leaves fuel less intense fires
4. Forest becomes dense & fire intolerant species invade (eastern redcedar)
5. Eventually, cedar (ladder fuel) allows fire to kill large oaks
Check out the map and more here https://xtimbers.uark.edu/map/
Quote from Hallgren et al 2011Fire and Vegetation Dynamics in the Cross Timbers Forests of South-central North America

New order of business... Maintain Your Intact Grasslands!
Start Here!
Intact Grassland Stage

• Treeless with no seeds or tree seedlings
• Action: Avoid introducing seed - Fire
• Priority: 1

Seed Dispersal & Recruitment Stage

• Grassland with incoming seeds & tree seedlings
• Action: Remove young trees - Fire, cutting, haying, browsers
• Priority: 2

Mature Tree Encroachment Stage

• Seed producing trees (6+ years, 5+ ft. tall)
• Action: Remove scattered, seed producing trees - Hand tools, machinery, fire
• Priority: 3

Transitioned to Woodland Stage

• Trees dominate
• Action: Remove large trees - Heavy machinery, fire
• Priority: 4

This is a new approach for combating woody encroachment. To learn more check out the factsheet! [https://bit.ly/WoodyEncroachmentGuide](https://bit.ly/WoodyEncroachmentGuide)

Dinosaur Pyric Herbivory?
Substantial charcoal in this dinosaur's stomach likely shows grazing of regrowing plants in recent burns.
Ferns, a majority of the stomach contents, regrow quickly in burned conifer forests, which likely caused this attraction to burned areas, aka pyric herbivory.
Plant fossil abundance for 5 sites - Alberta, Canada
- Conifers 59%
- Ferns 12%
- Palms 5%
- Other 24%
Stomach contents of Borealopelta markmitchelli
- Conifers 1%
- Ferns 85%
- Palms 3%
- Other 11%
CONIFERS were most abundant on the landscape.
FERNS were most abundant in the stomach.
Brown et al. 2020 Dietary palaeoecology of an Early Cretaceous armoured dinosaur (Ornithischia; Nodosauridae) based on floral analysis of stomach contents https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.200305
Kalyniuk et al. 2023 The Albian vegetation of central Alberta as a food source for the nodosaurid Borealopelta markmitchelli https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2022.111356
Borealopelta markmitchelli photo by Etemenanki3 \- Used, edited and available under CC BY-SA 4.0 [creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

HABITAT | Fire reduces shelter & questing space
Tick Survival: Burning increases sunlight reaching the forest floor. This increases swings in humidity & temperature, limiting tick survival.
Tick Abundance: Lone Star Tick abundance decreased when litter cover & depth were reduced from prescribed fire.
WILDLIFE | Fire changes host & predator activity
Tick Hosts: Fire reduces cotton rat abundance likely by reducing vegetative cover and increasing coyote predation success.
Tick Predators & Pathogens: areas with greater Northern Bobwhite abundance showed reduced incidence of Lyme disease, rickettsia & ehrlichia. Likely from quail eating ticks.
MORTALITY | Depends on Fire Temperature & Duration
.\>75% of Gulf Coast ticks were killed where fire-front reached 626�F.
Prescribed fires can peak between 200 \- 1,000�F depending on fuels & weather conditions.
Gallagher et al 2022 Can restoration of fire-dependent ecosystems reduce ticks and tick-borne disease prevalence in the eastern United States? https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2637

A great practice for removing cedars. Cut and stuff to control larger cedars and junipers with prescribed fire**.**

Eastern Redcedar Effects on Water
Evergreen Canopy
-Increases water loss and Interception.
-Decreases precipitation leaving the soil (Torquato et al. 2020).
Water Use

• Eastern Redcedar uses 1 quart to 17 gallons of water daily

(Caterina et al. 2014).
Cedar encroachment increases bare soil, water repellency, and erosion (Thurow & Carlson 1994; Wine et al. 2011).
For more research click here: https://bit.ly/3T7TWoH
#rangelands #easternredcedar #water #brushmanagement #oklahomalands
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Eastern Redcedar & Grassland Birds

Cedars can convert grasslands to woodlands.

Grassland Birds

Most rapidly declining avian group in N. America.

Rarely seen when cedar cover is over 10%.

Grasshopper Sparrow, Dickcissel

Grassland specialists, intolerant of eastern redcedar (Chapman et al. 2004).

Upland Sandpiper, Burrowing Owl, Meadowlark

Decline with increasing cedar cover (Horncastle et al. 2005).

Lesser Prairie-Chicken (proposed for endangered listing)

Avoid nesting where more than 1 eastern redcedar per acre (Lautenbach et al. 2017).

For more research, click here https://bit.ly/UNL_CedarDetails

Nebraska Agronomy and Horticulture 

Lesser Prairie-Chicken Photo by Tom Kennedy

Used & edited under CC BY-NC https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Eastern Redcedar & Grassland Birds
Cedars can convert grasslands to woodlands.
Grassland Birds
Most rapidly declining avian group in N. America.
Rarely seen when cedar cover is over 10%.
Grasshopper Sparrow, Dickcissel
Grassland specialists, intolerant of eastern redcedar (Chapman et al. 2004).
Upland Sandpiper, Burrowing Owl, Meadowlark
Decline with increasing cedar cover (Horncastle et al. 2005).
Lesser Prairie-Chicken (proposed for endangered listing)
Avoid nesting where more than 1 eastern redcedar per acre (Lautenbach et al. 2017).
For more research, click here https://bit.ly/UNL_CedarDetails
Nebraska Agronomy and Horticulture
Lesser Prairie-Chicken Photo by Tom Kennedy
Used & edited under CC BY-NC [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

Eastern Redcedar Encroachment Impact on Water
CANOPY INTERCEPTION
Cedar woodlands INTERCEPTED MORE RAIN than adjacent prairies during growing season. (Zou et al. 2015a)
TRANSPIRATION
Each tree transpired 6 gallons per day on average. (Caterina et al. 2014)
DEEP SOIL WATER LOSS (VIA ROOTS)
Deep roots used deep soil water during droughts. (Eggemeyer et al. 2009)
SEDIMENT IN RUNOFF
Cedar woodland produced 1.6 times more sediment load than restored prairie (Zhong et al. 2022)
STREAMFLOW
Models using streamflow & soil moisture data suggest that converting a rangeland watershed to cedar woodlands could reduce annual streamflow by 20-40%. (Zou et al. 2015b)
RUNOFF & SUBSURFACE FLOW
Runoff to streams & ponds decreased by up to 80% after conversion of prairie to cedar woodland (Zou et al. 2014)
GROUNDWATER RECHARGE
Cedar woodland caused an 85-96% reduction in groundwater recharge (Acharya et al. 2017, Adane & Gates 2015)
Zou et al 2015a https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0141422
Caterina et al. 2014 https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1444
Egggemeyer et al. 2009 https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpn019
Zhong et al. 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2021.105816
Zou et al 2015b https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1684
Zou et al 2014 https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10102
Acharya et al 2017 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-3138-0.
Adane & Gates 2015 [https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-014-1181-6](https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-014-1181-6)

Cedars make wildfire more dangerous and difficult to control.
Eastern redcedar is a volatile fuel with increased flame lengths & spotfire risk.
Volatile Fuels: contain chemicals with a low boiling point that ignite easily and burn at high temperatures.
Flame Length & Spotfire Risk
Grasses: Flame length average, 4 - 6 ft
Eastern Redcedar: Flame length average, 30 ft
Cedar Embers

• travel long distances (500+ ft)
• can cause spotfires ahead of the main fire
• increases risk of structure loss and injury to people

To learn more about cedar as a hazardous fuel, click the link. [https://bit.ly/VolatileFuelOSU](https://bit.ly/VolatileFuelOSU)