Fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens) shrubs are able to change their sex depending on environmental variables, and in general, stress tends to cause plant sex to shift towards maleness. In this study, exclosures were used to determine the effect of moderate and heavy cattle grazing on the sex and reproductive capacity of fourwing saltbush plants at the individual plant and pasture level. The release of plants from grazing stress increased flowering (though utricle fill was not affected) and the number of female plants at the individual shrub level. However, the shift in sex ratio towards female in the exclosures and male in grazed plots was not significant at the pasture level. The inconclusive nature of the sex change data indicates that grazing may not have as large of an effect on shrub sex as that which was expected, or that the scale of the experiment was too small to detect differences. Authors recommend further research to determine the effects of grazing on sex change in fourwing saltbush at the pasture level.
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