Rangeland Ecology & Management

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UPLAND AND RIPARAIN COVER UNDER STRATEGIC GRAZING, CONTINUOUS STOCKING AND MULTI-YEAR REST
Author
Danvir, Rick
Simonds, Gregg E.
Sant, Eric D.
Thacker, Eric T.
Larsen, Randy
Svejcar, Anthony J.
Ramsey, Doug
Provenza, Fred
Boyd, Chad
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2018
Body

Despite the complex nature of biophysical systems, ranchers need ways to assess ecological progress, and grazing management practices must be science-based to be broadly accepted. We used innovative remote sensing technology in this case study to quantitatively assess whether four New Mexico mid-grass prairie ranches using Strategic Grazing Management (SGM) and rotational grazing, had less upland bare ground and more riparian vegetation than neighboring lands which did not use SGM. Neighboring lands were managed with continuous stocking (CS) or multi-year rest. A combination of Ground-Based Vertical Photographs, Pleiades 0.5m2 and Landsat satellite imagery were used to develop continuous cover maps of each ranch and compare upland and riparian cover on paired polygons of ecologically similar sites along ranch boundaries. Bare ground averaged significantly less (13% less; p < 0.001) on SGM ranches than on adjacent paired sites (using pooled data from all four ranches). On Ranch 3 alone, bare ground was significantly lower than adjacent CS pastures (27% lower, p < 0.001) and lower than adjacent pastures rested > 3 years (20% lower; p = 0.072). Riparian vegetation averaged 19% greater on SGM stream reaches than on paired CS reaches (p < 0.002) since ranches began using SGM (1984-2015). However, precipitation-driven changes in percent riparian vegetation on both SGM and CS pastures in the thirty-year time-series caused cover values to fluctuate significantly, and to converge at high and low precipitation extremes.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM Reno, NV