Botanical composition of steers' diets on a shrub-steppe rangeland in south-central Washington was examined by inspection of finely ground fecal samples viewed through a microscope. Four species, Cusick bluegrass, Thurber needlegrass, hawksbeard and bluebunch wheatgrass, comprised 92% of the total diet. Grasses accounted for 73% of the diet and forbs and half shrubs contributed 26%. Botanical composition of the diets changed throughout the spring grazing season with changing availability and maturation of herbage. Preference indices in decreasing order were: Cusick bluegrass > Thurber needlegrass > hawksbeard > bluebunch wheatgrass, but bluebunch wheatgrass was the most abundant species in the pasture. The second most abundant grass, Sandberg bluegrass, was not selected by steers. 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.