Grassland birds require variability in habitat, with various species having affinity for grasslands with specific structural characteristics. Patch-burn-graze systems have been implemented in many areas of the United States to increase rangeland heterogeneity and improve range utilization and grassland bird habitat. However, in the Northern Great Plains, burning is often viewed negatively. We are investigating whether patch winter grazing can 1) create environmental heterogeneity similar to that created by burning, 2) increase avian diversity on rangeland and 3) do so without negatively impacting livestock production. The primary objectives (1) compare bird species diversity, composition, and densities between patch treatment versus continuous season-long (control) pastures, (2) evaluate habitat structural differences between patch treatment and continuous season-long (control) pastures, (3) compare livestock performance (weight gain) and vegetation utilization between patch treatment and continuous season-long (control) pastures, and (4) evaluate spatial resource use by livestock in patch treatment versus continuous season-long (control) pasture. Study pastures are located at SDSU Cottonwood Research Station. Four native mixed-grass prairie pastures have be divided in half, with one half receiving the patch treatment and the other will be the non-patch control. A patch representing twenty percent of each treatment sub-pasture was winter grazed to remove most of the standing vegetation in Year 1. A separate second patch underwent the same winter grazing treatment in Year 2. Data collected will be analyzed using t-tests and ANOVA. We anticipate an increase in grassland spatial heterogeneity by creating patches with intense winter grazing that are rotated across the landscape over several years without detrimental losses in livestock performance. We hope this study will provide an alternative more likely to be adopted by the regional ranching community in the Northern Great Plains to increase rangeland heterogeneity.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.