To determine the impacts of livestock grazing on range health, Yeo measured vegetation at 19 sites inside and outside of exclosures, that were 18-38 years old. Areas protected from grazing had less soil erosion and bare ground, and had greater species richness, cryptogram cover, and value for wildlife (due to increased forage and cover availability). Similarity in species composition inside and outside of the exclosures ranged from 45-82%. However, the limited cover of some key species, such as Poa secunda, was evidence of the impacts of grazing outside of the exclosures. Based on the data collected from the exclosures used in this study, the author suggests that many factors, environmental, temporal and historical, can affect the recovery of a plant community after grazing, and that recovery is not always predictable or successful after grazing removal.
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