This 10-year study was designed to evaluate vegetation response to increasing stocking rates under rotational stocking (3 days graze, 51 days rest) and long-term rest. The 4 stocking rate treatments ranged from the recommended rate for moderate continuous grazing to 2.7 times the recommended rate. Common curly-mesquite [Hilaria belangeri (Steud.) Nash] increased (P = 0.05) in all grazed treatments and decreased in the livestock exclosure. Sideoats grama [Bouteloua curtipendula (Michx.) Torr.] along with other midgrasses decreased (P = 0.07) in all grazed treatments and increased in the livestock exclosure. Because the midgrasses were palatable species and not abundant, they were defoliated too intensively and too frequently. Rotational stocking was not able to sustain initial species composition at any of the stocking rates tested. 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
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.