Rangeland Ecology & Management

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Influence of grazing on channel morphology of intermittent streams
Author
George, M. R.
Larsen, R. E.
McDougald, N. K.
Tate, K. W.
Gerlach, J. D.
Fulgham, K. O.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2002-11-01
Body

Alteration of stream channel morphology by cattle and associated streambank erosion is a concern on rangeland watersheds. The objective of this study was to determine changes in stream channel morphology in response to 5 grazing treatments applied to 0.4 ha pastures and replicated on 3 intermittent streams at the San Joaquin Experimental Range in the central Sierra Nevada foothills of California. Baseline stream channel morphology parameters were determined along 10 transects in each pasture in June 1994. Seasonal grazing treatments (no grazing, wet season moderate, wet season concentrated, dry season moderate, and dry season concentrated) were repeated annually over 4 years beginning in July 1994. Stream channel morphology parameters were measured annually from 1995-1998. When stream morphological responses were averaged across years, there were no detectable effects of grazing on the parameters measured. Year effects and their interaction with grazing were significant, primarily for stream morphological parameters that included channel depth in their measurement or calculation. Channel depth increased significantly in the ungrazed controls, but did not change due to any grazing treatment. These results indicate that grazing had little effect on the morphology of these bedrock limited, intermittent stream channels. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020

Language
en
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Journal Issue/Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.2307/4003998
Additional Information
George, M. R., Larsen, R. E., McDougald, N. K., Tate, K. W., Gerlach, J. D., & Fulgham, K. O. (2002). Influence of grazing on channel morphology of intermittent streams. Journal of Range Management, 55(6), 551-557.
IISN
0022-409X
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/643699
Journal Volume
55
Journal Number
6
Journal Pages
551-557
Journal Name
Journal of Range Management
Keywords
stream channel depth
riparian grasslands
depth
stream erosion
streams
savanna woodlands
Quercus wislizeni
width
grazing experiments
dry seasons
wet season
pastures
grazing intensity
California
range management
beef cattle
plant height
grazing effects
stream bank erosion
sediments
annual rangelands
California