Hild et al. assessed the effects of drought and grazing and the combination of these two disturbances on root counts and seedling emergence from the seedbank of an eastern Montana grassland. Authors found that drought and grazing reduced root counts, however, grazing reduced roots in the A horizon while drought reduced roots in the Bw horizon. Two possible explanations for lower root counts in the A horizon of grazed plots may be that the production of above-ground biomass in response to defoliation reduced root growth or that plant shifted growth to deeper roots in response to grazing pressure. In general, grazing and drought did not affect the seed bank composition, however, forb seedlings were greater on grazed plots that were not exposed to drought than other treatment plots, indicating that grazing could possible alter species composition in this area if conditions were right.
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.