providing partner-based solutions to conservation challenges Navigation

providing partner-based solutions to conservation challenges

  • About Us
    • About PLJV
    • Our Landscape
    • Bird Habitats
    • Management Board
    • Our Team
    • Jobs
    • Contact Us
  • Grasslands
    • About Grasslands
    • Woody Plant Encroachment
    • Grassland Goals
    • Conservation Strategies
  • Playas
    • About Playas
    • How Playas Work
    • Groundwater Recharge
    • Water for Communities
    • Playa Science
    • Playa Goals
    • Playa Maps and Tools
    • Playa Restoration Guide
    • Renewable Energy Tools
  • Wetlands
    • About Wetlands
    • Wetland Goals
  • Resources
    • Bird Data
    • Conservation Planning
    • Habitat Conservation
    • Playa Science
    • Playa Maps and Tools
    • Renewable Energy Tools
    • Capacity Grant Program
    • NAWCA Grants
  • News
    • News Stories
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Playa Post Newsletter
  • Search
  • About Us
    • About PLJV
    • Our Landscape
    • Bird Habitats
    • Management Board
    • Our Team
    • Jobs
    • Contact Us
  • Grasslands
    • About Grasslands
    • Woody Plant Encroachment
    • Grassland Goals
    • Conservation Strategies
  • Playas
    • About Playas
    • How Playas Work
    • Groundwater Recharge
    • Water for Communities
    • Playa Science
    • Playa Goals
    • Playa Maps and Tools
    • Playa Restoration Guide
    • Renewable Energy Tools
  • Wetlands
    • About Wetlands
    • Wetland Goals
  • Resources
    • Bird Data
    • Conservation Planning
    • Habitat Conservation
    • Playa Science
    • Playa Maps and Tools
    • Renewable Energy Tools
    • Capacity Grant Program
    • NAWCA Grants
  • News
    • News Stories
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Playa Post Newsletter
  • Search

News

Home News Do Invasive Plants Push Out Grassland Birds?
Photo by Jill Wussow

Do Invasive Plants Push Out Grassland Birds?

July 24, 2019 Birds, Grasslands, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas

The PLJV partnership has been using the Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions (IMBCR) program to monitor grassland bird populations since 2016, with most of that sampling designed to measure birds across average conditions. However, woody plant encroachment is becoming more and more of an issue, one that many of our conservation partners are wanting to address. Woody plants, like juniper and mesquite, have always been a feature of grasslands and woodland savannas in the plains, but they were kept in check by frequent fires. Now, areas that were once prairies are quickly becoming shrublands, and even woodlands. This is an issue that just about every state in the JV is dealing with.

The presence of invasive woody plants on the landscape certainly changes the quality of habitat in regards to grassland dependent bird species.

“Because we’ve only been sampling birds in grasslands, we can’t really say how grassland birds respond to woody plant encroachment,” explains PLJV Biologist Kyle Taylor. “Nor can we say how birds respond to common treatments used to remove woody plants in grasslands, such as mechanical removal or prescribed burns.”

To address this issue and identify the thresholds of woody plant cover that lead to the exclusion of common grassland birds, PLJV devoted about one third of the 2019 IMBCR sampling points to areas with varying amounts of invasive woody shrubs, like the location pictured above. The bird sampling was conducted by Bird Conservancy of the Rockies’ highly-trained field crews and included points within encroachment hotspots in New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma.

“This year’s survey locations have been an interesting departure from the places we have visited over the past three field seasons,” says Brittany Woiderski, Bird Conservancy crew leader. “I expect we’ll see higher counts of shrub-loving birds in the data this year—species like Ash-throated Flycatcher, Painted Bunting, Pyrrhuloxia, Curve-billed Thrasher, and possibly Ladder-backed and Golden-fronted Woodpeckers.”

The presence of invasive woody plants on the landscape certainly changes the quality of habitat in regards to grassland dependent bird species. However, each species has very specific habitat preferences. For example, Cassin’s Sparrow, the most frequently detected sparrow species in the PLJV region, prefer a small amount of shrub cover on the landscape, whereas Horned Larks prefer open ground and short grasses. Shrubs also provide more perches and, therefore, more opportunities for birds like Loggerhead Shrike and Mississippi Kite to predate upon smaller grassland species.

“Ultimately, we think some species will benefit from woody plant encroachment and some species will lose habitat,” notes Taylor. “Better identifying which birds will be winners or losers, and where habitat conditions are changing the fastest, will inform where we should be targeting conservation delivery work to restore grasslands in the future.”

Dive Deeper

  • Bird Data to Inform Conservation
  • IMBCR Data Backs Up Findings in Texas
  • Follow the Data to Follow the Birds
  • Woody Plant Encroachment

Contact Us

Playa Lakes Joint Venture is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization (EIN 84-1623284).

PO Box 957 Erie, CO 80516


Send Message
© 2023 Playa Lakes Joint Venture
Website By Skyhound Internet

Subscribe to the playa post

Get regular updates, stories about conservation, tools to help with conservation planning , and information about events, grants and more. Issues come out about every 8 weeks.

SUBSCRIBE NOW
PWFK
PlayasWorkForNM
TxPCI_Light_Logo

Playa Lakes Joint Venture
We are a regional partnership of federal and state wildlife agencies, conservation groups and private industry dedicated to conserving bird habitat throughout the western Great Plains — including portions of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. We provide science-based planning, decision support, and communication and outreach tools to help our partners become more efficient and effective at delivering on-the-ground conservation. Learn more about us.

Mailing Address
PO Box 957
Erie, CO 80516
Phone
303-926-0777
Email
Contact Form
Toggle the Widgetbar