Karen Hickman

My research program focuses primarily on addressing and understanding the effects of various management practices on plant and animal populations and communities within rangeland ecosystems of the Great Plains. Native rangelands, grasslands, and pasturelands in Oklahoma as well as throughout the central and southern Great Plains are under new threats from invasion by exotic and native species and exurban sprawl, as well as traditional challenges associated with livestock and wildlife management. My primary research goals are to further evaluate effects of management practices (e.g. grazing, patch burning, herbicide application, revegetation) on invasive species in Oklahoma grasslands, and to elucidate abiotic (e.g. fire, precipitation), plant-plant and plant-animal interactions that might be involved in limiting invasions of native systems by various invasive species. Ultimately, my research goals are to establish collaborations with other researchers throughout the US and northern Mexico (i.e. Chihuahua) and continue to collaborate with researchers at OSU in order to conduct research whose results can be influential in the development and application of proper (and adoptable) land management practices.