Rangeland Ecology & Management

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Tobosa tiller defoliation patterns under rotational and continuous stocking
Author
Senock, R. S.
Anderson, D. M.
Murray, L. W.
Donart, G. B.
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
1993-11-01
Body

Continuous low animal density grazing of tobosa [Hilaria mutica (Buckl.) Benth.] in the northern Chihuahuan desert results in nonuniform forage utilization. Stocking smaller tobosa rangeland paddocks with high numbers of cattle for short periods of time may facilitate more uniform forage utilization. Two grazing periods in each of 2 consecutive years were monitored to investigate the frequency with which tobosa tillers were defoliated and the intensity of defoliation (change in height) in relation to grazing pressure under high-density seasonal rotational and low-density seasonal continuous grazing. Approximately 40% of tiller height, including leaves, was removed at each defoliation in the rotational treatment, while intensity of defoliation per grazing event remained consistent. In the continuous treatment, amount of tiller removed varied widely and was not consistent among the 4 periods. Percentage of tillers defoliated in the rotational treatment was always greater than 75%, and always less than 30% in the continuous treatment. The probability that a tiller would be grazed at least once in the rotational treatment was more than twice as great as in the continuous treatment. However, within the rotational treatment, the probability of multiple grazing events (greater than or equal to 2) on an individual tiller was less than the probability of a tiller being grazed just once. In general, high-density rotation grazing promoted more uniform. forage utilization of tobosa than low-density continuous grazing. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. 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)
10.2307/4002860
Additional Information
Senock, R. S., Anderson, D. M., Murray, L. W., & Donart, G. B. (1993). Tobosa tiller defoliation patterns under rotational and continuous stocking. Journal of Range Management, 46(6), 500-505.
IISN
0022-409X
OAI Identifier
oai:repository.arizona.edu:10150/644649
Journal Volume
46
Journal Number
6
Journal Pages
500-505
Journal Name
Journal of Range Management
Keywords
Hilaria mutica
grazing
New Mexico