Running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) is a federally endangered plant that appears to depend on habitat disturbance, although proposed management strategies such as cattle grazing, mowing, and herbicide application have never been compared in a controlled study. We evaluate the efficacy of these techniques on the Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD) in Madison County, KY, where one of T. stoloniferum’s largest populations occurs. Fifty-nine patches of T. stoloniferum on the BGAD were treated annually between 2012 and 2014 with combinations of mowing and grass-specific herbicide. Patches of T. stoloniferum also were exposed to one of three types of cattle exposure (traditional dispersed grazing, enclosed grazing, and no grazing). Patches that were both mowed and sprayed with herbicide had significantly greater increases in abundance and higher survival rates than those with other treatments. Plants in any treatment group produced significantly longer and more numerous stolons than plants in control groups in the first year. Grazing status had no significant effect on abundance but ungrazed plants had significantly higher survival rates as well as significantly longer and more numerous stolons in the second year than plants in openly grazed areas. Enclosed grazing produced significantly higher increases in flower production. Although the results were sometimes inconsistent between years, they provide evidence in support of a mixed management strategy for T. stoloniferum that incorporates both mowing and grass-specific herbicides. The use of cattle as a management tool may hold potential, but care should be taken to regulate the duration and intensity of grazing because unrestricted grazing was more detrimental than no grazing at all.
","abstract_html":"<p>Running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) is a federally endangered plant that appears to depend on habitat disturbance, although proposed management strategies such as cattle grazing, mowing, and herbicide application have never been compared in a controlled study. We evaluate the efficacy of these techniques on the Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD) in Madison County, KY, where one of T. stoloniferum’s largest populations occurs. Fifty-nine patches of T. stoloniferum on the BGAD were treated annually between 2012 and 2014 with combinations of mowing and grass-specific herbicide. Patches of T. stoloniferum also were exposed to one of three types of cattle exposure (traditional dispersed grazing, enclosed grazing, and no grazing). Patches that were both mowed and sprayed with herbicide had significantly greater increases in abundance and higher survival rates than those with other treatments. Plants in any treatment group produced significantly longer and more numerous stolons than plants in control groups in the first year. Grazing status had no significant effect on abundance but ungrazed plants had significantly higher survival rates as well as significantly longer and more numerous stolons in the second year than plants in openly grazed areas. Enclosed grazing produced significantly higher increases in flower production. Although the results were sometimes inconsistent between years, they provide evidence in support of a mixed management strategy for T. stoloniferum that incorporates both mowing and grass-specific herbicides. The use of cattle as a management tool may hold potential, but care should be taken to regulate the duration and intensity of grazing because unrestricted grazing was more detrimental than no grazing at all. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Dart-Padover, Alexi David"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Master's","degree_discipline":"Biological Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:32Z","subjects":["endangered species","grazing","management","plant conservation","running buffalo clover","Botany","Natural Resources and Conservation"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2015 Alexi David Dart-Padover"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/358","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Dart-Padover, Alexi David"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Master Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biological Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["endangered species","grazing","management","plant conservation","running buffalo clover","Botany","Natural Resources and Conservation"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2015 Alexi David Dart-Padover"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/358"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) is a federally endangered plant that appears to depend on habitat disturbance, although proposed management strategies such as cattle grazing, mowing, and herbicide application have never been compared in a controlled study. We evaluate the efficacy of these techniques on the Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD) in Madison County, KY, where one of T. stoloniferum’s largest populations occurs. Fifty-nine patches of T. stoloniferum on the BGAD were treated annually between 2012 and 2014 with combinations of mowing and grass-specific herbicide. Patches of T. stoloniferum also were exposed to one of three types of cattle exposure (traditional dispersed grazing, enclosed grazing, and no grazing). Patches that were both mowed and sprayed with herbicide had significantly greater increases in abundance and higher survival rates than those with other treatments. Plants in any treatment group produced significantly longer and more numerous stolons than plants in control groups in the first year. Grazing status had no significant effect on abundance but ungrazed plants had significantly higher survival rates as well as significantly longer and more numerous stolons in the second year than plants in openly grazed areas. Enclosed grazing produced significantly higher increases in flower production. Although the results were sometimes inconsistent between years, they provide evidence in support of a mixed management strategy for T. stoloniferum that incorporates both mowing and grass-specific herbicides. The use of cattle as a management tool may hold potential, but care should be taken to regulate the duration and intensity of grazing because unrestricted grazing was more detrimental than no grazing at all.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Comparison of Management Strategies for the Federally Endangered Running Buffalo Clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) on the Blue Grass Army Depot, KY"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Dart-Padover, Alexi David"],"dc:description.abstract":["Running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) is a federally endangered plant that appears to depend on habitat disturbance, although proposed management strategies such as cattle grazing, mowing, and herbicide application have never been compared in a controlled study. We evaluate the efficacy of these techniques on the Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD) in Madison County, KY, where one of T. stoloniferum’s largest populations occurs. Fifty-nine patches of T. stoloniferum on the BGAD were treated annually between 2012 and 2014 with combinations of mowing and grass-specific herbicide. Patches of T. stoloniferum also were exposed to one of three types of cattle exposure (traditional dispersed grazing, enclosed grazing, and no grazing). Patches that were both mowed and sprayed with herbicide had significantly greater increases in abundance and higher survival rates than those with other treatments. Plants in any treatment group produced significantly longer and more numerous stolons than plants in control groups in the first year. Grazing status had no significant effect on abundance but ungrazed plants had significantly higher survival rates as well as significantly longer and more numerous stolons in the second year than plants in openly grazed areas. Enclosed grazing produced significantly higher increases in flower production. Although the results were sometimes inconsistent between years, they provide evidence in support of a mixed management strategy for T. stoloniferum that incorporates both mowing and grass-specific herbicides. The use of cattle as a management tool may hold potential, but care should be taken to regulate the duration and intensity of grazing because unrestricted grazing was more detrimental than no grazing at all.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/358"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2015 Alexi David Dart-Padover"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["endangered species","grazing","management","plant conservation","running buffalo clover","Botany","Natural Resources and Conservation"],"dc:title":["A Comparison of Management Strategies for the Federally Endangered Running Buffalo Clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) on the Blue Grass Army Depot, KY"],"dc:type":["Master Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biological Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:32Z"}