The authors sampled vegetation at three desert grassland sites in southeastern Arizona to compare successional trends on rootplowed and undisturbed rangelands inside and outside the 14 to 19-year old exclosures. Native perennial grass densities were very low and similar on unplowed rangelands inside and outside the exclosures. Exclusion of grazing did not restore the native perennial grasses of these communities. Soils disturbed by rootplowing 12 to 16 years ago were almost bare at the Bowie site but were dominated by the half-shrubs, Gutierrezia sarothrae and Haplopappus tenuisectus at the San Simon and Pima sites, respectively. Dominant shrubs eliminated by rootplowing exhibited limited reestablishment on the disturbed soils. The authors conclude that there is no evidence that exclusion from grazing alone or even in association with rootplowing will encourage reestablishment of native perennial grasses.
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