Authors determined basal area and frequency of occurrence of native grasses in three big sagebrush-grass communities in Nevada, following 3 years of heavy grazing in a 9-year, rest-rotation grazing system. Thurber needlegrass (Stipa thurberiana) decreased in the grazed plots and increased in the protected plots from 1977 to 1983, Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis) and squirreltail (Sitanion hystrix) increased in protected plots in the Wyoming big sagebrush-Idaho fescue (Artemisia tridentata wyomingensis-Festuca idahoensis) community, and bluebunch wheatgrass (Agropyron spicatum) did not differ at all between years. Reducing sagebrush and bluegrass competition did not increase the cover of the understory grasses due to the periodic heavy grazing during the growing season. These results support the contention that such heavy grazing pressure can prevent range improvement in an otherwise appropriate rotation grazing system.
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