In this study, Gillen et al. determined the effects of altering the rest period between grazing cycles and the stocking rate in a short-duration rotational grazing system in pastures that were spring burned each year for the 5 consecutive years of the study. Increasing the number of grazing cycles did not affect standing crop, utilization, plant frequency, or species composition, whereas increasing the stocking rate tended to decrease standing crop, increase utilization, and slightly increase forb composition of the pastures. In general, the grazing schedules and stocking rates that were used had no significant effects on the tallgrass prairie and all pastures maintained a high seral stage during the 5-year study. However, this positive response may have been due to the above average precipitation levels during the study, the spring burning, the initial high-seral stage of the study pastures, or the combination of the above factors and the authors caution that the results may differ under other study conditions.
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