Amur honeysuckle (AH; Lonicera maackii Herder) and common buckthorn (CB; Rhamnus cathartica L.) are tall shrubs that are common invaders in forested lands across central and eastern United States. These shrubs grow readily in many soil types, climatic environments, and are often so prolific that they form dense understory thickets, which restrict native plant growth and tree seedling establishment. Mechanical and Chemical control can be effective methods for controlling these species but are expensive, and generally require many follow-up treatments to be successful. If good economic returns can be demonstrated by grazing AH and CB with small ruminants, then this control method may be appealing to producers. During the 2011, 2012, and 2013 grazing season (May – Aug.), small ruminants browsed four paddocks of AH and CB to a height of 10 ft. in Lincoln County, Missouri. In July 2012 a NRCS National Resources Inventory style point interception survey was conducted on the vegetation at permanent photo points in the paddocks. AH were present at 82% of the points and CB were present at 13% of the points. The AH and CB are understory species and were under taller native over-story species 83% of the time. Native understory species were present at 2% of the points. Non-native understory species (excluding AH and CB) were present at 14% of the points.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.