Plant community responses to livestock grazing: an assessment of alternative management practices in a semi-arid grassland

Loeser, Matthew R. and Sisk, Thomas D. and Crewse, Timothy E. (2001) Plant community responses to livestock grazing: an assessment of alternative management practices in a semi-arid grassland. In: Ponderosa pine ecosystems restoration and conservation: steps toward stewardship (RMRS-P-22), April 25-27, 2000, Flagstaff, AZ.

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Abstract

One of the most prevalent land-use practices in the American Southwest, and one of the most contentious issues among land-use policymakers, is the grazing of domestic livestock. In an effort to contribute scientific understanding to this debate, we have designed experiments comparing the effects of alternative grazing regimes on plant communities. In a semiarid grassland of northern Arizona, we have implemented a replicated study of four treatments: (1) low-intensity, long-duration grazing rotations; (2) highintensity, short-duration rotations (Holistic Resource Management-style grazing); (3) very high intensity, short duration grazing (to simulate herd impact); and (4) livestock exclosure. Beginning in 1997, we conducted annual surveys of the plant communities with Modified-Whittaker plots. Preliminary results suggest that interannual variability affecting all study plots is high, and that these alternative management strategies do not have dramatic short-term effects on the plant community. Comparisons of native and exotic species richness, as well as ground cover of grasses and forbs, showed no consistent pattern due to treatment over a 3-year period. Our results suggest that the effects of alternative livestock management styles in the semiarid grasslands studied are modest, at least in the short-term, and that future plant monitoring programs would greatly benefit from a multiscale sampling design.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Publisher’s Statement:	Published by US Forest Service.
Additional Information:	Part of larger document titled Ponderosa pine ecosystems restoration and conservation: steps toward stewardship, 2000 April 25-27, Flagstaff, AZ.
Keywords:	Ponderosa pines (Pinus ponderosa); Ecosystem management; Landscape management; Restoration; Conservation; Fire behavior; Cost effectiveness analysis; Grazing; ERI Library
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences S Agriculture > SD Forestry
Department/Unit:	Research Centers > Ecological Restoration Institute
Date Deposited:	16 May 2017 18:09
URI:	http://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/2841

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