The effects of four rangeland manipulations on plant and animal richness and abundance

I measured herbaceous production, biodiversity and cost-effectiveness at replicate areas receiving four types of range treatments, between 1992 and 1996 in northern Utah. These treatments were unseeded spring burn, seeded fall burn, mechanical disk and seed, and the herbicide Tebuthiuron. All treatments decreased sagebrush biomass. However, increase in herbaceous biomass varied by treatment. The Disk and seed treatment increased biomass the most. Spring burn was second and the most cost effective. Plant diversity and richness increased with disk and seed and Tebuthiuron treatment. There was no response in plant diversity or richness to the spring and fall burn. The Tebuthiuron treatment increased small mammal diversity. Fall burn treatments decreased small mammal diversity, there was no change in small mammal diversity in the spring burn and disk and seed treatments. Insect richness and diversity increased with the spring and fall burns and decreased with the disk and seed and Tebuthiuron.