According to Bogen et al., grazing of foothills rough fescue (Festuca campestris) plants, that have been recently burned by wildfire, may be detrimental to the future reproduction and growth of those plants, depending on the time of year that defoliation takes place, not the grazing intensity. In the first growing season after burning, burned plants were smaller and produced less tillers and seedheads than non-burned plants. Burned plants clipped in July produced fewer tillers than plants clipped in May or September. The second growing season after burning, and one season after clipping, burned plants were still smaller, but produced more tillers than non-burned plants, possibly in response to the fire disturbance. Burned plants clipped the previous July had lower above-ground production, and fewer tillers and seedheads than non-clipped plants and plants clipped in September. Based on this data, the authors recommend that if grazing is necessary the first growing season following fire, on pastures containing foothills rough fescue, it should be delayed until after seedhead establishment to reduce the impact of grazing on plant growth and reproduction.
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