Ammon and Stacey looked at the long term effects of cattle grazing on riparian habitat for song birds in northwestern Nevada. The authors looked at two 25-30 ha plots, one which had not seen grazing in 30 years while the other was grazed over the period, except for the year of the study. They found that nests in the shrub layer, stream willows and old growth willows were more heavily preyed upon in the grazed area than in the ungrazed area. The ground vegetation was much more abundant on the grazed area, so predation was less than that of the ungrazed area. The authors stated that although grazing can enhance some aspects of riparian habitat, its main harmful effect is changing of predation patterns or of the composition of predators.
Citations and enhanced abstracts for journals articles and documents focused on rangeland ecology and management. RSIS is a collaboration between Montana State University, University of Idaho, and University of Wyoming.