Management of remnant tallgrass prairie by grazing or fire in western Minnesota, 2016-2017

We studied the impacts of using cattle grazing or prescribed fire to manage remnant prairies on plant communities and soil characteristics in the prairie parkland province of western Minnesota. These datasets consist of nested frequency plot plant survey data, study site and soil characteristics, and management information taken from 73 sites owned and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy and private land owners. Because management effects can take many years to become evident, we evaluated response variables on remnant prairies that had been subject to either fire or grazing for at least 10 years prior to our surveys, between 2005-2015.