RSS 1.0Journal of Range Management, Volume 31, Number 1 (January 1978)
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Welcome to the Rangeland Ecology & Management archives. The journal Rangeland Ecology & Management (RE&M; v58, 2005-present) is the successor to the Journal of Range Management (JRM; v. 1-57, 1948-2004.) The archives provide public access, in a "rolling window" agreement with the Society for Range Management, to both titles (JRM and RE&M), from v.1 up to five years from the present year.
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Print ISSN: 0022-409x
Online ISSN: 1550-7424
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Recent Submissions
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Journal of Range Management, Volume 31, Number 1 (January 1978)Society for Range Management, 1978-01-01
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White-tailed Deer Preferences and Hunter Success under Various Grazing SystemsPreferences of white-tailed deer to various grazing management systems now being tested at the Texas A&M University Agricultural Research Station, Sonora, were evaluated on the basis of deer density and economic returns from hunting. Hunter success was evaluated on the basis of several factors. White-tailed deer definitely preferred a rangeland grazed under a system which included a systematic rotational deferment, and the more frequent the deferment the higher the preference. Hunter success was directly related to deer density, time during the season hunted, brush management, and type of grazing system utilized. Results from this study indicates that good livestock grazing management can also be good big-game range management.
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Vegetative Responses of Some Great Basin Shrub Communities Protected against Jackrabbits or Domestic StockWe surveyed the vegetation at 19 locations inside and outside 12 exclosures built at various times in Curlew Valley, northern Utah. The exclosures were in semidesert shrub vegetation and included several communities definable by a dominant perennial shrub distribution having sharp boundaries. At the level of the individual quadrat, there was no correlation between the density of any of the abundant annuals and the percentage of the soil surface that was bare, or covered by rock, dead plant matter, or cryptogam crust. The communities as defined by dominants arranged themselves in the order winterfat, shadscale, shadscale and perennial grasses, sagebrush, black sage. These communities are known to be found on progressively less xeric sites. The changes which resulted from protecting samples of these communities from grazers were fairly consistent within each community, but differed among communities; and moreover these changes were not correlated with a trend from more to less xeric sites. Protection against sheep, with or without protection against jackrabbits, did not have very many effects even over 15 years: halogeton generally decreased; peppergrass increased where present; winterfat increased in vigor but not in density where it was dominant. Other dominant shrubs and perennial grasses did not respond to protection. Protection against jackrabbits had no consistent extra effect on the parameters studied. The classical concept of range succession is that recovery from overgrazing moves a community through secondary succession parallel to a gradient towards relatively more mesic conditions. On the whole, this concept has not been useful in interpreting the results of excluding grazers from these semiarid shrublands.
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Successional Trends in a Ponderosa Pine/Bitterbrush Community Related to Grazing by Livestock, Wildlife, and to FireA ponderosa pine/bitterbrush community in the South Fork of the Salmon River, Idaho, was determined to be a seral stage of a Douglasfir/snowberry habitat type. An exclosure, erected in 1959 to evaluate effects of browsing on bitterbrush by big game, contained more kinnikinnik and less Idaho fescue than did the outside area. Bitterbrush density was similar outside and inside the exclosure, but twig production was 12 times greater outside. A combination of periodic natural fire prior to effective suppression starting in the 1940's, and livestock grazing were probably initially responsible for the secondary successional vegetation on the site. Subsequently, utilization by big game of this vegetation has served to maintain the productivity of the bitterbrush and retard succession to climax.
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Salt Tolerance of Five Varieties of Wheatgrass during Seedling GrowthThe salt tolerance of five relatively recently released varieties of wheatgrass was evaluated in a 6-week greenhouse study. Barton western wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii Rydb.) tended to be more sensitive to salinity than Arriba or Rosana western wheatgrass. Critana thickspike wheatgrass (A. dasystachyum [Hook.] Scribn.) tended to be more salt tolerant than the western wheatgrasses but was not as salt tolerant as Jose tall wheatgrass (A. elongatum [Host] Beauv.).
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Research Needs on Western RangelandsA brief history of rangelands leading to the current status of range research in the western United States is reviewed. Five categories of new or unresolved problems needing research are identified. Ranked by priority, the five are: (1) dynamics of individual plants and plant communities; (2) identification, classification, and inventory of range ecosystems; (3) improvement of rangelands for increased productivity and stability; (4) short- and long-term grazing impacts; and (5) influence of economic, social, and political constraints on management of range resources. Recommendations are made for some redirection of current research and for organizing, administering, and coordinating research activities.
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Phenology of the Aerial Portions of Shadscale and Winterfat in Curlew Valley, UtahPhenological development of aboveground portions of shadscale and winterfat was observed for 7 years in Curlew Valley, Utah, and graphically related to patterns of precipitation and temperature. The considerable variation in year-to-year phenology should be noted by those taking data in other basic and applied studies. Preset dates for livestock management actions that ignore yearly phenological differences could result, in some years, in the plants being used during phenological states that are susceptible to damage by browsing. Seed set cannot be counted on every year, complicating one of the assumptions of rest-rotation grazing.
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Nutritional Characteristics of Blue Grama Herbage under the Influence of Added Water And NitrogenThe effects of water and nitrogen treatments on nutritional characteristics of blue grama [Bouteloua gracilis (H.B.K.) Lag. ex Steud.] herbage were studied at a native shortgrass prairie site in northeastern Colorado. Results indicated greater total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC) (g m-2), protein (g m-2), gross energy (GE) (kcal/m -2), and total carbon (g m-2) in herbage from the water and water + nitrogen treatments than from the untreated control or nitrogen treatments. On the other hand, there were greater concentrations (% dry weight) of TNC and nitrogen in the nitrogen treatment than in the other three treatments. The greater yield of TNC, protein, and GE in the water and water + nitrogen treatments was mainly a result of greater aboveground-live biomass production than in the control or nitrogen treatments. TNC/N and C/N ratios of herbage from these treatments were calculated and are discussed in light of their importance in nutrition of grass forage for livestock production.
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Nonstructural Carbohydrate Depletion in Snowberry (Symphoricarpus oreophilus)Nonstructural carbohydrate (NC) concentrations in defoliated snowberry (Symphoricarpus oreophilus) plants were compared over two seasons with trends of NC concentrations in untreated plants. Nonstructural carbohydrate concentrations in small roots and stems of defoliated plants decreased slowly from the time of initial defoliation. The NC concentrations in large roots and root crowns remained stable until prolonged, intense defoliation caused a significant decrease in NC concentrations in these plant parts. NC concentrations in stems, large roots, and root crowns decreased significantly before plant death. The decrease in NC concentrations in large roots and root crowns coincide with an increase in NC concentrations of stems prior to leaf production. Defoliated plants did not produce new stems after defoliation began and stem mortality during dormancy was great. NC concentrations apparently were inadequate to support the entire plant through dormancy. Nonstructural carbohydrates remaining in dead plant parts constitute an unused portion of the carbohydrate reserves.
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Molybdenosis: A Potential Problem in Ruminants Grazing on Coal Mine SpoilsCopper-to-molybdenum ratios in all but two sweetclover samples collected on spoil at eight coal mines in the Northern Great Plains ranged from 0.44:1 to 5:1. Ratios of 5:1 or less in forage are reported to cause molybdenosis, a nutritional disease occurring in molybdic regions of the world. Therefore, if the major forage on coal-mine spoils is sweetclover or other species with similar Cu:Mo ratios, molybdenosis may be expected to occur in cattle and sheep grazing in these areas.
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Intensive Early Stocking and Season Long Stocking of Kansas Flint Hills RangeNative Flint Hills bluestem range was stocked at twice the normal rate, 1.7 acres per steer. Daily steer gain and gain per acre were greater for IES. Late summer gain by steers on SLS was less than the gain during early summer on either treatment. For the complete trial, steers under SLS gained more per head, 210 lb compared with 141 lb, due to the 154-day grazing period compared with 75 for IES. Although more grass had been removed by mid summer with IES, by the end of the summer grass yield was higher on IES than on the pasture stocked only half as heavily but full season. Percent big bluestem increased under IES and decreased with SLS. Percent Kentucky bluegrass decreased under IES and increased with SLS, but that may have resulted from more complete burning under IES.
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Influences of Brush Conversion and Weather Patterns on Runoff from a Northern California WatershedSixteen years of data were evaluated to determine the influence of annual weather patterns and a brush conversion project on subsequent runoff from an 86.2-ha watershed. Grassy vegetation released 39% more total runoff than did woody vegetation. Total runoff for each hydrologic year was directly proportional to total precipitation, regardless of vegetative cover. However, runoff as a proportion of total precipitation increased 59% following conversion of woody to grassy vegetation, and most closely correlated with March cover. Unfortunately, brush conversion also drastically increased the number of soil slips and sediment discharged from the watershed. All major landslides occurred in the vicinity of streams when the root systems of woody vegetation along these streams began to decay. Leaving this streambank vegetation intact may have prevented some of the undesirable results of brush conversion on the watershed.
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Increasing Rangeland Forage Production by Water HarvestingEffects of additional water, provided from adjacent water-collecting areas, on forage production of blue panicgrass (Panicum antidotale Retz.) were assessed. Applying paraffin for water repellency of runoff areas increased water for use on the collecting areas. In this 3-year study, more than 2,000 kg/ha/year forage was harvested with rainfall of less than 130 mm and collecting-area runoff from 14 summer events in 1974 and from 18 summer events each in 1975 and 1976. Forage production from control plots averaged only 200 kg/ha/year the second and third years. Forage yield was increased about 16-fold over that of the control using a waxed-soil runoff area two times the crop growing area. Adjusting yields for the size of the bare runoff areas, the average yield increase for the system was still five times greater than that which would have been obtained from an uninterrupted planting of grass. Water-use efficiencies for this technique were comparable to those for irrigated grass.
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Factors Affecting Forage Consumption by Cattle in Arizona Ponderosa Pine ForestsForage consumption was significantly correlated with forage production and tree density, but not with steepness of slope, rockiness of soil, or distance from water. This suggests that good range management practices can effectively distribute livestock use.
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Effects of Two Wetting Agents on Germination and Shoot Growth of Some Southwestern Range PlantsTwo soil wetting agents (linear sulfonate and alkyl polyethylene glycol ether) were evaluated on inhibition of germination and shoot growth of alkali sacaton, galleta, blue grama, and fourwing saltbush. Sacaton and galleta seeds were germinated in wetting agent solutions (185, 370, and 740 ppm by volume) as well as in sand and a water-repellent coal mine spoil sample treated with the wetting agents at rates equivalent to 23.5, 47, 94 liters/ha. Blue grama and saltbush were germinated only in the sand and spoil samples. Results indicate that in solution culture these wetting agents reduce germination, severely deter shoot growth of both sacaton and galleta, and cause nearly permanent injury to plumules of galleta seeds. Wetting agents applied to sand at the comparable rates cause only minor reduction in shoot emergence and growth of the tested grass species, presumably due to soil sorption of wetting agents. The wetting agents tested are potentially phytotoxic, especially the sulfonate compound to saltbush, but can improve shoot emergence when applied to water-repellent media.
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Effect of Prescribed Fire on Bobwhite Quail Habitat in the Rolling Plains of TexasBobwhite quail preferred lotebush as loafing cover over all other woody plants, although honey mesquite was also used during summer months. Most (88.3%) lotebushes on the study area were resprouts of burned plants. During the first 5 to 6 years after burning, quail used large lotebushes that had escaped fire or were partially defoliated. Following fire, only 3.9 lotebushes/ha were available as cover for quail. Little covey movement was observed between seasons, indicating yearlong cover requirements were being met within a fairly small area. Before burning large pastures, at least 10 large honey mesquite and 4 large lotebushes per hectare in each primary rest area should be ringed with 7-m firebreaks to insure adequate cover for quail.
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Deer Mouse Preference for Seed of Commonly Planted Species, Indigenous Weed Seed, and Sacrifice FoodsCaptive deer mice from pinyon-juniper, sagebrush-bitterbrush, and Jeffrey pine-ceanothus plant associations were fed a variety of shrub, grass, forb, and tree seeds. Mice ate or destroyed an amount of seed equal to approximately one-third their body weight daily. Seed of bitterbrush, singleleaf pinyon, balsamroot, and small burnet were the most preferred food items tested while seed of Utah juniper, smooth brome, fourwing saltbush, and big saltbush were least preferred. Planting valuable forage species whose seeds are not preferred by deer mice would appear to improve seeding success on sites where seed predation by deer mice is a problem.
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Conflicting Vegetational Indicators on Some Central Oregon ScablandsTwo soil-vegetation sites were studied in central Oregon to determine why two conflicting plant indicators (antelope bitterbrush and low sagebrush), occurred on apparently uniform sites. Investigation showed that bitterbrush was not a reliable indicator of site conditions in the two study areas. Landscapes that appeared to be uniform were actually highly variable because of internal soil differences.
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Blue Grama and Buffalograss Patterns in and Near a Prairie Dog TownBlue grama and buffalograss patterns differed in response to prairie dog mound building activities. While both species exhibited smaller pattern sizes within prairie dog towns compared to outside, but adjacent areas, the size of clumps and patches differed for the two species. Prairie dog activities caused a two-fold decrease in pattern size of blue grama by reducing size of clumps and patches. On the other hand, buffalograss patches were fragmented into small clumps which were not observed outside the town.
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A Comparison of the Line Interception and Quadrat Estimation Methods of Determining Shrub Canopy CoverageThe line-interception and Daubenmire's 0.1 m2 quadrat estimation methods of determining canopy coverage were compared for four densities of big sagebrush in northwestern Nevada. Results indicated that the methods provide comparable estimates. The line-interception method is preferable to 0.1 m2 quadrats where high levels of precision and confidence are required, but the 0.1 m2 quadrat method may be preferable where lower levels of precision and confidence are acceptable. Fewer man-minutes of time are required by either method for one person working alone than for two people working together.
