Stroud et al measured the response of western wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii) to three treatments, including unclipped controls, conventional clipping, and clipping (which simulated continuous grazing). Two years of simulated grazing did not affect herbage production or tiller numbers, but both declined under conventional clipping. Belowground phytomass decreased as herbage removal increased. Total non-structural carbohydrate concentration in rhizomes decreased when utilization exceeded 40%, but that of roots and crowns decreased only when utilization exceeded 60-70%. The authors conclude that the use of clipping to estimate proper stocking seed and utilization of plants appears to have become less frequent in recent years, possibly due to the difficulty of correlating the removal rates by clipping with those obtained under actual grazing by herbivores. The authors state that clipping which more accurately simulates removal rates by herbivores, as in this study, can provide a more accurate assessment of the impacts of those herbivores.
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