In 1987, Kansas brought bisons back to Konza Prairie; 29 yrs later, native plant richness rose 103%

Restoring grazing by native large herbivores such as bison can produce sustained increases in native plant diversity In 1987, 30 bison from the Fort Riley Military Reservation were brought to Konza Prairie in Kansas. Nearly three decades later, researchers found that native plant species richness had increased by 103% at the local scale and by 86% across catchments compared with areas without grazing.The findings come from a long-term study at Konza Prairie Biological Station, a large area of native tallgrass prairie in the Flint Hills of eastern Kansas, according to Kansas State University. The research compared areas grazed year-round by bison with areas grazed by domestic cattle during the growing season and areas where there were no large grazers.The study found that the increase in native plant diversity under bison grazing continued for nearly three decades. It also survived an extreme drought that affected the region in 2011 and 2012. The researchers said the gains in plant richness recovered after the drought.The bison had been introduced as part of long-term ecological research at Konza Prairie. Their grazing is studied along with other processes such as fire and climate. ...