Impact of prescribed fire and grazing management on grassland plant and songbird communities

该提案的目标是量化鸟类与栖息地的关系，为加拿大自然保护协会老人背部保护区的植被管理提供信息。了解如何管理保护草原以维持高质量的濒危物种栖息地对加拿大履行其在《濒危物种法》下的义务至关重要。我们有三个目标：1)通过比较2018年和2019年火烧地区与相邻控制区的鸣禽丰度和栖息地指标，确定规定火灾对鸣禽的长期影响；2)比较三种放牧制度（夏季野牛放牧、冬季野牛放牧和夏季牛放牧）之间的植物群落多样性、生产力和结构；3)比较三种放牧制度下鸣禽的丰度。这个项目对加拿大自然保护协会有直接的重要性，对加拿大西部的畜牧业也有更广泛的意义。NCC的任务是管理和维护其土地基础的生态完整性，并为此获得大量联邦资金。放牧对维持草地生态系统的保护价值至关重要；该建议将为指导混合草原的具体放牧管理决策提供明确的答案。更广泛地说，管理放牧对濒危草原物种的影响对畜牧业至关重要。确定最佳管理做法，既能保持牧场经营的经济可行性，又能减轻放牧对濒危物种的影响，这对畜牧业生产者至关重要。

The goal of this proposal is to quantify bird-habitat relationships to inform management of vegetation at the Nature Conservancy of Canada Old Man on His Back Conservation area. Understanding how conservation grasslands can be managed to maintain high quality Species at Risk habitat is critically important for Canada to meet its obligations under the Species at Risk Act. We have three objectives: 1) determine the long-term impacts of prescribed fire on songbirds by comparing songbird abundances and habitat metrics between areas burned by prescribed fire in 2018 and 2019 and adjacent control areas, 2) compare plant community diversity, productivity, and structure between three grazing regimes (summer bison grazing, winter bison grazing, and summer cattle grazing), and 3) compare songbird abundance between the three grazing regimesThis project has importance both directly for the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and more broadly for the western Canadian livestock industry. NCC has a mandate to manage and maintain the ecological integrity of their land base and to that end receives substantial federal funding. Grazing is critical to maintain the conservation value of grassland ecosystems; this proposal will provide clear answers to guide specific grazing management decisions on Mixed grass prairie. More broadly, managing the impacts of grazing on grassland species at risk is critical for the livestock industry. Identification of best management practices that maintain both economic viability of ranching operations and mitigate effects of grazing on species at risk are essential for livestock producers.