Nash et al. studied the effect of three consecutive years of short duration and intense grazing on soil surface microtopography in a Chihuahuan Desert grassland. The results of this study document the virtual elimination of the fine-scale microtopography by intense (high stocking rate), short duration (1.5 days per year for 3 years) activity of domestic livestock. Shrub removal exacerbates the effects of livestock on the micromounds and microdepressions. On plots with mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) shrubs present, cattle apparently avoided the shrubs, and therefore has less impact on the microtopography in the vicinity of the shrubs. The combination of grass canopy removal and hoof-action by livestock resulted in mortality or reduction in the canopy areas of the grasses. The loss of microtopography coupled with reduction in vegetation height and cover resulting from short duration intense grazing by cattle exposed soils to an increased risk of soil erosion. The authors conclude that destruction of the micromound/microdepression topography by cattle changes the spatial patterns of water infiltration and may homogenize nutrients in desert grasslands.
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