Rangeland Ecology & Management

Get reliable science

EFFECTS OF TIME-CONTROLLED LIVESTOCK GRAZING ON HABITAT OF SOUTHWESTERN WILLOW FLYCATCHERS IN WEST-CENTRAL ARIZONA
Author
Smalls, Zachary
Howery, Larry
Tuttle, Stuart
Ruyle, George
Steidl, Robert
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2018
Body

The southwestern willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) is an endangered subspecies of willow flycatcher that occupies dense riparian habitats of the southwestern United States.� Many factors, including improper livestock grazing practices, are thought to explain declines in this species, although no long�term studies have sought to quantify the effects of grazing on willow flycatcher habitat.� The main goal of our study was to determine how time�controlled grazing by domestic livestock effects willow flycatcher habitat in west�central Arizona by: 1) measuring key vegetation attributes before and after livestock grazing, and at the end of the growing season; 2) providing quantitative baseline data on riparian woody vegetation that are considered vital habitat characteristics; and 3) assessing the effects of episodic rainfall events throughout the year.� We monitored vegetation on two ranches along the same watershed in west�central Arizona throughout 2015 and 2016, and focused on changes in vegetation in response to routine livestock grazing practices.� Specifically, we monitored mean utilization (%) of woody and herbaceous plant species; biomass (%), cover (%), and height (m) of the dominant plant species (woody and herbaceous); and density (#/m2) of woody plant species (seedlings).� Time�controlled livestock grazing (< 62 days) resulted in low relative and total utilizations (< 14%) for both herbaceous and woody plants during all sampling periods.� Consequently, species composition, canopy cover, and woody height of non�seedling woody plants remained relatively stable across most sampling periods.� Density of woody seedlings changed most in response to episodic flooding.��

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