Abstract
To develop techniques to control kudzu, Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi, I investigated the effects of clear-cutting and burning on the emergence of buried seeds on abandoned land and the effects of grazing on seedling dynamics. Abandoned agricultural and forestry land overgrown by kudzu was cut over in mid to late 2010, and piled branches were burned in mid-May 2011. The distribution of seedlings and buried seeds was examined along belt transects inside and outside burned sites in June and December, respectively. Sheep were grazed on the site from July. I measured changes in coverage of kudzu seedlings under four conditions : burned-grazed, burned-ungrazed, cut-grazed, and cut-ungrazed. Burning stimulated the emergence of a large number of buried seeds, reducing the residual number. Seedlings of kudzu became dominant under the burned-ungrazed condition, achieving 55% coverage in October, but vanished under the burned-grazed condition. Few seedlings emerged at cut sites, and a lot of buried seeds remained. Burning promoted significant dormancy breaking and seedling emergence, but clear-cutting had much less effect, and grazing suppressed seedlings.
