Promoting the Prairie: OSU faculty members educate about woody plant encroachment
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Media Contact: Sophia Fahleson | Digital Communications Specialist | 405-744-7063 | sophia.fahleson@okstate.edu
Every year, the tree line widens a couple more feet until the once empty prairie is thick with brush and mangled trees. If nothing is done to reduce this growth, the grasslands across the Great Plains will slowly disappear.
Researchers and faculty at Texas A&M University, the University of Nebraska and Oklahoma State University are collaborating on The Prairie Project to share current research about methods to reduce woody plant encroachment affecting the Great Plains.
Managers at the OSU Range Research Station implement patch-burning and multi-species grazing with cattle and goats to mimic the historic environment of Oklahoma rangeland and manage woody plant encroachment, said Laura Goodman, OSU Extension range specialist and natural resource ecology and management associate professor.
“Historically, most of Oklahoma had a wildfire every three to five years,” Goodman said. “Without fires, trees start to convert grassland to a woodland, posing a threat to wildlife and livestock that depend on grassland.”
By implementing patch-burning, where only a part of the pasture is burned, the animals graze in recently burned areas and leave unburned areas untouched, creating a rotation-grazing system in the pasture, she said.
The burnt and grazed areas increase the diversity with broadleaf plants that benefit pollinators, grassland birds, livestock and other wildlife species.
The grasslands were once populated by a diverse range of wildlife that impacted the woody plants, including pronghorn antelope, elk, bison and deer, Goodman said.
Over time, this diversity has simplified with a focus primarily on cattle grazing, she added.
“The Prairie Project is introducing goats alongside cattle to help manage woody plant encroachment because goats naturally consume the woody plants,” Goodman said. “This approach helps restore some balance to the ecosystem by reintroducing animals that fulfill roles of the wildlife that used to graze in Oklahoma.”
OSU Agriculture faculty have researched patch-burning and multi-species grazing for more than 20 years, but they did not have high adoption of the practices, she said.
Woody plants spread and invade grasslands, outcompeting native grass species, which is concerning for livestock producers in the Great Plains, said Derrell Peel, agricultural economics professor and OSU Extension livestock marketing specialist.
“In Oklahoma, we have millions of acres that are infested with cedar,” Peel said. “The woody plants will completely overtake the pastures. Even if there’s grass, the cattle can’t access it, and that greatly reduces productivity on those lands.”
Peel assessed the economic and cost-benefit analysis for integrating patch-burning and mixed-species grazing with existing cattle enterprises. The cost analysis of both management practices showed positive economic benefits when using these strategies to manage woody plants and maintain productivity, he said.
The Prairie Project also promotes the benefits of patch-burning and multi-species grazing to the public.
OSU Extension is vital to connecting the goals of The Prairie Project with livestock producers and landowners throughout the Great Plains, Goodman said.
“The Prairie Project’s goal is to work with landowners, helping to share this management strategy with them,” Goodman said. “We incorporate up-to-date information about patch-burning and multi-species grazing benefits into the existing OSU Extension outreach program.”
Beyond traditional, face-to-face interactions, The Prairie Project’s online presence introduces the conversation of patch-burning and multi-species grazing to the wider community, Goodman said.
Advocates for patch-burning and multi-species grazing often encounter skepticism, primarily due to concerns about smoke pollution and biodiversity loss, she added.
Although each method has its drawbacks, Goodman said research demonstrates both management practices effectively enhance biodiversity, improve vegetation quality, and decrease woody plant encroachment.
“To continue to interact online, faculty share information on The Prairie Project website, creating infographics to help communicate information about the impacts of these strategies,” Goodman said.
In addition to the project’s website, The Prairie Project’s success comes from a social media campaign to share informative content about the research on Instagram, Facebook and X, formerly called Twitter.
The social media campaign is a unique part of The Prairie Project, connecting with a more broad, diverse group of people within communities, Goodman added.
“Sharing the science behind The Prairie Project on social media is something not a lot of research projects get a chance to do,” Goodman said.
Goodman and Allison Thompson, OSU Extension assistant, design creative infographics for The Prairie Project in hopes people will share the content on their own social media pages, Goodman said.
Seeing content shared by someone you know and trust adds legitimacy to the information, she said. This sharing extends the reach of the content to individuals who may connect with the content, she added.
“Social media has shifted the conversation, and we are starting to see more people share their experiences and ask questions,” Goodman said.
In addition to social media, The Prairie Project is bridging the gap between researchers, ranchers and the general public by offering an educator training to K-12 and postsecondary teachers through educational outreach efforts, said Sam Fuhlendorf, OSU natural resource ecology and management Regents professor.
The training program provides educators with a foundation to develop curriculum that promotes interactive learning experiences about rangeland health and management for students at various education levels, he added.
With the majority of land in Oklahoma being privately owned, OSU Agriculture faculty and staff must educate all communities about the threat of woody plant encroachment across the Great Plains, he said.
“We need education not just in rural areas but in urban areas, too,” Fuhlendorf said. “What is really missing is education to the masses.”
The Prairie Project educators have developed unique curriculum based on their different interests, Goodman said. Some teachers have given students hands-on experiences by conducting small, controlled burns and raising goats, she added.
“All these educators are from very different backgrounds,” Fuhlendorf said. “We tell them about the science behind the research of The Prairie Project. Then, they develop a curriculum for youth to adults. The most exciting part is talented teachers conveying the message that we’ve been trying to communicate.”
Story by: Annabelle Zellers | Cowboy Journal