In the shortgrass steppe of Colorado, authors made comparisons of vegetation and species composition between grazed sites and geologic refuge sites, that were located in ravines and not exposed to livestock grazing. Exclosure experiments revealed that grazing was the major factor influencing differences in vegetation between the two sites. Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) plants in exclosures tended to be more similar to refuge site plants and had greater height, total tillers, and flowering tillers than grazed plants. Species richness was similar between the two sites but grazed areas were dominated by shortgrass steppe species while refuge areas had greater species diversity and were composed of a mixture of tall stature species, forbs, and shrubs. The refuge site used in this study tended to be more tall species dominated and even light grazing tended to shift the species composition from this vegetation type to the vegetation found in heavily grazed shortgrass steppe suggesting that this plant community is uncommon and will not likely become common in this historically grazed area.
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