Understanding the temporal response of vegetation to selected livestock grazing strategies is necessary for the continued maintenance or increased productivity of rangelands. Vegetation cover and above-ground biomass were sampled bimonthly from 1978-1984 on pastures grazed continuously (MCG) and moderately stocked (8.1 ha AU-1); continuously (HCG) and heavily stocked (4.6 ha AU-1); high-intensity, low-frequency (HILF) and moderately stocked (8-1; 17:119 day stocked at 8.1 ha AU-1); short-duration grazing (SDG) and heavily stocked (14-1; 4:50 day, stocked at 4.6 ha AU-1); and livestock exclusion (LEX). Prior grazing history, vegetation cover, soils, and slope were similar among pastures. Midgrass cover was eliminated in the HCG pasture, and declined in the heavily stocked SDG pasture. Midgrass cover was maintained under the moderately stocked HILF grazing strategy and increased under MCG or LEX. During 1984, sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula (Michx.) Torr.) basal diameter in the MCG and LEX pastures was significantly greater than in the SDG pasture. By the end of the study, total organic cover and total aboveground biomass in the MCG or LEX pastures were significantly greater than in the SDG and HCG pastures. The heavy grazing intensity used in this study, regardless of the grazing strategy, does not appear suited for long-term maintenance of midgrass species. 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
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.