In two Kansas pastures, authors monitored indices of vegetation abundance, composition, and grazing from 1980-1981. At the beginning of the grazing season, some areas were grazed lightly to moderately, while others were ignored. This results in differentially grazed patches. Because grazing animals prefer fresh growth more than mature forage, previously grazed patches are repeatedly grazed. In this study, some areas were grazed repeatedly and resulted in overgrazed patches, which increased in number as seasons progressed. By the end of each grazing period, more than 70% of each pasture was grazed, but only 23-56% of the areas consisted of overgrazed patches depending on the year and treatment. Species composition of overgrazed patches was different from the surrounding vegetation, but soil properties were not.
Citations and enhanced abstracts for journals articles and documents focused on rangeland ecology and management. RSIS is a collaboration between Montana State University, University of Idaho, and University of Wyoming.