A mountain bunchgrass community with cool-season Parry oatgrass (Danthonia parryi) and warm-season slimstem muhly (Muhlenbergia filiculmis) as major grass species was treated with early partial harvest of cool-season grasses and late partial harvest of warm-season grasses. Warm-season grasses were greatly reduced by repeated late harvest, slightly reduced by late harvest in alternate years, and slightly promoted by early harvest of cool-season grasses. The dominant cool-season grasses responded less to repeated early harvests than did the less abundant warm-season grasses to repeated late harvests. These results indicate that careful management of grazing time and intensity can alter plant species composition in mountain grasslands towards cool- or warm-season grasses, however the clipping treatments used in this study may not accurately reflect the selection of plants by large herbivores and therefore further research should be done before this management is implemented.
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