The cutover pinelands of south Florida are fire-dependent communities dominated by saw-palmetto and pineland threeawn, two low-quality species. Land managers interested in cattle, wildlife, or timber production seek effective ways of controlling these species. Chopping is generally used to accomplish such control. This study was designed to discover differences in forage production and species composition as a result of season of chopping. Although important differences were not revealed, chopping during periods of low soil moisture appeared to give best results. Generally, saw-palmetto was reduced from 24% to 3% coverage, while the yield of pineland threeawn decreased from an average of 80% to near 20%. Desirable species such as bluestems, panicums, paspalums, and razorsedge became abundant. After 2 years, total herbage production increased from a normally expected 3,600 lb per acre to an average of 5,400 lb per acre. 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.