Soil moisture and temperature were measured for a five-year period on a mesic foothill grassland and on an arid cold desert shrub-type in western Wyoming. Herbage production increased on both the arid and mesic sites following the sagebrush and grazing control treatment with the greatest increase occurring on the mesic site. Average annual soil temperature was greatest at the arid site and was warmest in the shrub-dominated areas at both sites. Soil moisture recharge during the spring period was greatest at the mesic site under the non-use treatment but at the arid site grazing treatment did not significantly influence moisture accumulation. Under the shrub control treatment, soil moisture recharge was little influenced at the mesic site and at the arid site greatest soil moisture recharge occurred in the non-controlled shrub area. Soil moisture withdrawal was similar at both the arid and mesic sites in that the least amounts of moisture were taken from the soil under the grazed and non-controlled shrub treatments. Soil moisture accumulation during the spring period was greatest at the mesic site from 24 to 60 inches below the soil surface and the greatest values occurred in the shrub controlled grassland area. At the arid site high moisture levels occurred only down to the 12-inch depth.

On perennial ryegrass-subclover and tall fescue-subclover forage mixtures, grazing cattle preferred grass to clover during the spring-summer period. Sheep selected a consistently high amount of subclover in both pasture mixtures during spring. In summer, sheep preferred tall fescue to subclover but on ryegrass-subclover pastures retained or increased dietary preferences for dry subclover over ryegrass. Light and heavy stocking induced no large differences in forage selection patterns for either cattle or sheep.

Rangeland improvement in Thal, Pakistan through reseeding was started in 1962. These operations were impressively successful on heavy soil valley flats but loose sand dunes defied all efforts of sowings. These dunes have been successfully rehabilitated through planting tufts of Cenchrus ciliaris (dhaman) and Elyonurus hirsutus (karera). On better sites, grasses seeded in flats are spreading naturally to the dunes. Under "Thal Technique of Planting Trees" more than 100,000 fodder trees have been transplanted successfully since July 1964 in earthen tubes (baked) without watering. Experiments to determine effects of exposure and different competition levels on height growth of Zizyphus jujuba (ber) are presented. Southeastern (leeward) exposures have been found to be significantly (highly) better than tops and northwesterly (windward) exposures. The minimum plant competition level gave significantly (highly) more height growth than the other three levels./El mejoramiento de los pastizales en Thal, Pakistán por medio de la siembra, fue iniciado en 1962. Se obtuvo un éxito impresionante en las siembras hechas en valles planos con suelos pesados, pero en las dunas de arena suelta todos los esfuerzos por sembrar resultaron fallidos. Sin embargo, dichas dunas han sido rehabilitadas exitosamente por medio del transplante de macollos de Cenchrus ciliaris y Elyonurus hirsutus. Los zacates sembrados en los valles están invadiendo en forma natural las dunas. Los pastizales de verano en Thal tienen zacates verdes disponibles por seis meses únicamente; a excepción de Elysine flagellitera en general durante su dormancia dichos zacates no mantienen un alto valor nutritivo. Tradicionalmente durante el invierno la principal fuente de alimento es el ramoneo. Los árboles de ramoneo se presentan como fuente esencial de abastecimiento de forraje durante todo el año, su aumento estable por medio de técnicas de plantación es entonces un problema mayor en el área. Una técnica conocida como "técnica Thal para plantar árboles" ha probado tener mucho éxito en ciertas especies de árboles bajo situaciones específicas. La técnica incluye la construcción de tubos de arcilla cocidos, con una longitud de 30 cm (1 pie) y con un diámetro de 11.25 cm (4.5 pulgadas). Las especies deseadas son plantadas en los tubos en invernaderos para que posteriormente cuando tengan sus raíces y follaje adecuadamente desarrollados sean transplantados en el campo. El propósito del tubo es proporcionar a la planta un medio en el cual pueda sobrevivir hasta que pueda tomar ventaja de la humedad existente en la arena de las dunas, siendo entonces el tiempo de plantación el factor mas determinante. Se encontró que el transplante no se deberá intentar hasta que haya humedad adecuada en 30 cm (1 pie) en el estrato superficial del suelo. Las plantaciones de Prosopis spicigera han sido las de mas éxito, otras especies fueron susceptibles a la destrucción por insectos. Las plantaciones de exposición sureste fueron significativamente mejores que los realizados en exposición noroeste y en la cima de las dunas. Una mínima competencia con las plantas dio un crecimiento en altura significativamente mayor.

The grazing capacity of mountain rangelands can be increased by management practices which improve cattle distribution. In this study, the increased economic returns resulting from pond construction, spring development, and trail construction appear to justify investment in these projects by either private operators or the federal government. Guzzler construction may be a sound investment for the stockman, but does not appear profitable for the federal government. Under the conditions of this study, fencing mountain rangelands was not profitable for either stockmen or the federal government. Both strategic salting and cattle herding (drifting) appear to be profitable practices for the rancher.

Germination of winterfat decreased and was delayed as moisture stress increased. Decreases were proportionately less at lower temperatures, which indicates soil drying may not be as detrimental to germination during cool weather. One of the two sources of seed tested germinated better under all moisture stresses. Further research may reveal certain sources are superior for revegetation.

Three annual forage legumes, apparently differing in their drought resistance in the field, were grown in controlled environments to better understand mechanisms of their drought resistance and to determine relationships between phosphorus nutrition and drought. Phosphorus fertilization stimulated growth of the annual legumes and decreased water use (ml/g dry weight of top growth). Relative top growth and phosphorus uptake of Spanish clover tended to confirm observations of its drought resistance in the field. Water use was higher in Spanish clover than in subterranean clover and therefore does not appear to contribute to its drought resistance. This study provides information that will be helpful in future research on the morphological and physiological traits that contribute to drought resistance in these and other range plants.

Seeds refrigerated 4 years germinated no better than seeds stored under ordinary conditions. Viability was retained for 6 years under storage at 55 to 95 F.

Yearling cattle gained weight satisfactorily on cheatgrass range under rotational (moderate) and continuous (moderate and heavy) grazing systems during a 3-year study. This study was designed to determine effects of these systems on the rangeland-not on individual plant species. Assignment of these systems to different pastures each year precluded evaluation of long-term vegetal response to the treatments. Weight gain was greatest in late spring. Grazing capacity of the range and cattle gain per acre increased through the summer, then declined. Yearly variation in production of forage and beef was apparently due to weather. Grazing capacity and beef production increased under continuous heavy grazing, but possible vegetation changes not evaluated in this study make heavy grazing undesirable.