McClaren and Anable measured the changes in density of Lehmann lovegrass (Eragrostis lehmanniana) and native grasses, and the proportion of lovegrass present along a livestock grazing intensity gradient, six occasions in permanent plots during 1972-1990 on the Santa Rita Experimental Range, Arizona. The gradient included grazing exclosures and plots radiating away from a cattle watering point. The density of Lehman lovegrass increased with time but was not affected by different grazing intensities. As grazing intensity increased, native grass density decreased and lovegrass relative abundance increased with time. Density and relative abundance of lovegrass did not differ between adjacent ungrazed and grazed areas. McClaren and Anable conclude that because the density of stands of Lehmann lovegrass is not a function of livestock grazing intensity, management strategies to hasten or resist its spread should not rely on livestock grazing management. Instead, they predict that controlling seed arrival is the only mechanism to manage Lehmann lovegrass spread.
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