Responses of Vegetation and Cattle to Various Systems of Grazing on Seeded and Native Mountain Rangelands in Eastern Utah

Abstract

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. Allen Press and Society for Range Management are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Range Management. AbstractSeveral grazing systems were compared on the Diamond Mountain Cattle Allotment of the Ashley National Forest in Utah. The area is about 8,000 ft in elevation and receives 20-25 inches of precipitation annually. On native sagebrush-grass range, a comparison of summer-long (July-September) grazing every year, summer-long in alternate years, and 3-unit rest-rotation systems revealed no differences between systems in cover, production, or species composition of vegetation after 7 years of grazing. Average daily gains of cattle over the entire period were the same for all systems. During the period of study on this range, which was in fair to good condition and grazed at a moderate intensity, rest-rotation was not a better system than summer-long grazing. The key to this lack of difference was management. Rest-rotation systems require intensive management of water, salt, riding, etc. All units in both systems in the study had good distribution of water and salt and adequate riding to insure uniform cattle distribution. The unit grazed summer-long every year received the same degree of management and thus remained as productive as ranges under restrotation management. On seeded units of the allotment, heavy grazing in June in alternate years increased production on areas dominated by crested wheatgrass and smooth brome.Practical and efficient methods of managing cattle on highelevation ranges of the Intermountain area are needed. This study was started in 1959 and continued through 1967 and was designed to test two systems of spring (June) grazing on seeded mountain rangeland and three systems of summer grazing on native rangeland. The relative effects of the grazing systems on forage production, amount and pattern of utilization, ground cover, and cattle production were compared. It was a cooperative effort of the Diamond Mountain Cattle Association and the Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station and the Ashley National Forest of the U.S. Forest Service. Experimental AreaThe study was conducted on the Diamond Mountain Cattle Allotment approximately 25 miles north of Vernal, Uintah County, Utah, on the Ashley National Forest. The allotment is on the plateau on the east end of the Uinta Mountains. Elevations on the allotment vary from 7,000 feet on the southeast to 8,200 feet on the northwest. The allotment is predominately rolling tableland bordered on the southwest and dissected on the south side by steep canyons. Precipitation records from the Kings Cabin storage gauge (4 miles west of the allotment but slightly higher ele...

Biotic communities cannot mitigate the negative effects of grazing on multiple ecosystem functions and services in an arid shrubland

“…Grazing-induced trampling and herbivory reduce the size of Atriplex and Maireana shrubs (Graetz and Wilson 1980) 7 Grazing-induced trampling compacts surface soils, reducing macroporosity, increasing soil bulk density (Laycock and Conrad 1981) and reducing soil microbial populations (Fterich et al 2011) and therefore soil function. 8 (+) Shrubs provide physical protection against trampling by herbivores (Eldridge et al 2013;Smit et al 2007).…”

Managing Intermountain rangelands - improvement of range and wildlife habitats: proceedings; 1981 September 15-17; Twin Falls, ID; 1982 June 22-24; Elko, NV

“…In a study conducted on high-elevation sagebrushgrass ranges in Utah, Laycock and Conrad (1981) found no differences in individual cattle gains or vegetation response between continuous summerlong grazing (July 1-Sept. 30) and a three-unit rest-rotation system over a 7-year period. Pastures in both grazing systems had adequate andwell-distributed water, good distribution of salt, and adequate dispersal of cattle with riding.…”

“…This was on a range grazed yearlong and with only 9 inches of precipitation annually." Laycock and Conrad (1981) pointed out that no system can be evaluated after only one year to determine if it has increased carrying capacity, especially in a low rainfall area where vegetation responses tend to be very slow.…”

An ecological succession model applied to environmental management

“…Recent range studies, however, indicate that the expected seral stages and climax community do not develop (Hyder et al 1966: Dasman 1976: Laycock and Conrad 1981.…”

“…For example, in a seven year comparison study using a variety of different grazing systems, no difference in cover, production, or species composition was evident (Laycock and Conrad 1981). Another example involves cheat gzass, Bromus tectorum, which is invading rangeland in parts of the western United If rangeland is to be managed for continual long term sustained yields, the effect that environmental heterogeneity has on grazing relationships needs to be taken into account.…”