Giuliano and Homyack looked at the effects of cattle grazing on small mammal composition in riparian areas, where cattle have been previously excluded from grazing. Ungrazed areas were 1.7 times greater than the grazed area in species richness and 2.2 times higher in species abundance. The meadow vole and meadow jumping mouse, two species which are strictly herbivores, were more abundant in the ungrazed plots, while the short-tailed shrew, which is an insectivore, was found in equal abundance in both treatments. The authors mention that the exact effects of excluding grazing may not be fully represented by this study, due to the fact that cattle have only been excluded from the area for four years and more time may be needed to quantify the ecosystem changes caused by grazing.
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