Simulated water quality effects of alternate grazing management practices at the ranch and watershed scales

Park, Jong-Yoon; Ale, Srinivasulu; Teague, W.R.

doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2017.06.019

Cited by 29 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Although these results indicate the potential for high magnitude changes, our model did not indicate that the forgone surface runoff corresponded with a simulated increase in percolation and recharge and by extension, the potential for increased on-farm water capture (though this may be a limitation of the curve number approach, see discussion below). Instead, our SWAT model indicates that approximately 91% (572 ae-ft of 630 ae-ft) of the foregone surface runoff is evapotranspired under the rotational scenario; a tradeoff that is also observed in the results presented in annual water balance ratio under baseline scenarios in Park et al (2017). While likely not to be considered a beneficial hydrologic outcome, this would be consistent with an increase in forage production.…”

Section: Water Balance Resultssupporting

confidence: 56%

“…Rotational Park et al, 2017 Global N/A N/A Infiltration declines and soil erosion increases as grazing intensity increases; high intensity grazing substantially negative for soil aggregate structure and infiltration Dadkhah and Gifford, 1980;Mulholland and Fullen, 1991;Thurow, 1991 BIOMASS BENEFITS REVIEW USA N/A N/A RG management increased ground cover and total biomass Barnes and Howell, 2013 Wyoming, USA N/A N/A RG management increased ground cover and total biomass Graham, 2014 Serengeti National Park, TZ vegetation to regrow before being grazed must often be variable in response to weather, level of defoliation, and timing of defoliation (Grissom and Steffens, 2013). These differences in grazing management regimes make them difficult to test in a formal, experimental setting.…”

Section: Locationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this way, grazing was restricted to areas that were grazed on the Ucross property (based on best available information-e.g., animals in the model were prohibited from grazing areas that were not grazed by animals in real life). A similar approach to the representation of rotational grazing operations by subbasins was applied in Park et al (2017).…”

Section: Swat Modeling Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Existing Accessible Modeling Tools Offer Limited Support to Evaluation of Impact Investment in Rangeland Ecosystem Services

Gordon¹,

Kowal²,

Khadka³

et al. 2019

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Privately owned rangelands in the western US support many ecosystem services and are threatened by financial incentives favoring conversion to housing development and more intensive forms of agriculture. Recognizing this threat, the impact investment community has identified rangeland management as a potential investing strategy to produce financial returns while preserving or enhancing the ecosystem services provided by intact rangelands. This strategy is based primarily on the notion that a capital-intensive conversion from continuous to rotational grazing can financially sustain rangelands through a combination of increased productivity and potentially monetized ecosystem service flows. The potential for these gains is supported by compelling anecdotal evidence, yet a robust body of scientific literature based on rigorous field experiments has not supported those claims, nor produced transferrable estimates of the benefits provided by rotational grazing of livestock (particularly cattle in the western US). Therefore, to demonstrate investment viability and measure investment success, impact investors will likely need to address these well-documented disconnects through some combination of monitoring and process-based modeling. This study examines the extent to which existing modeling tools are up to this task, by assessing the ability of two process-based models to represent four specific rotational grazing benefits put forth by impact investors, using a ranch in northeastern Wyoming as a case study. Using the Soil Water Assessment Tool, we simulated high magnitude changes in the water balance from surface runoff to evapotranspiration, which may be a benefit or negative impact depending on context (Benefit 1). We simulated a decrease in soil water storage under rotational grazing, which directly contradicts the outcome assumed in investment literature (Benefit 2). Using the InVEST beta Rangeland Production Model (based on the Century ecosystem model), we simulated increased biomass productivity (Benefit 3) under rotational grazing, which enhanced animal performance under some management parameters but negatively impacted it in others (Benefit 4). We conclude that the impact investing community will likely find greater success through a shift to objective-oriented ranch management, rather than a specific focus on rotation, and will also need additional investment in science and monitoring to demonstrate benefits.

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Section: Water Balance Resultssupporting

confidence: 56%

Section: Locationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Swat Modeling Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Existing Accessible Modeling Tools Offer Limited Support to Evaluation of Impact Investment in Rangeland Ecosystem Services

Gordon¹,

Kowal²,

Khadka³

et al. 2019

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The two-way interactions of groundwater-surface water can improve representation of water fluxes in grassing lands. Park et al [99,100] simulated effects of alternate grazing management practices on water quality at the ranch and watershed scales. They compared four grazing practices: heavy continuous, light continuous and adaptive multi-paddock grazing, and no grazing.…”

Section: Soil and Water Assessment Tool (Swat)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Grazing Management on Spatio-Temporal Heterogeneity of Soil Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Grasslands and Rangelands: Monitoring, Modelling and Upscaling

Wang¹

2019

Preprint

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The sustainability of grazing lands lies in the nexus of human consumption behavior, livestock productivity, and environmental sustainability. Due to fast growing global food demands, many grazing lands have suffered from overgrazing, leading to soil degradation, air and water pollution, and biodiversity losses. Multidisciplinary efforts are required to understand how grazing lands can be better monitored, assessed and managed to attain predictable outcomes of optimal benefit to society. This paper synthesizes our understanding based on previous work done on impacts of grazing on ecosystem goods and services, identifies current knowledge gaps, and formulates a plan forward. We review the impacts of two contrasting grazing systems, continuous and multi-paddock rotational grazing, on soil carbon (C), nutrient cycling and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). We then extend our review to explore challenges of incorporating spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability into monitoring and modelling C and nutrient cycling in grazing lands. We revisit two process-based models (i.e., DNDC and DayCent) and two watershed models (i.e., SWAT and VIC) widely used to simulate C, nutrient and water cycles of these lands. Finally we identify research directions for improving the knowledge base which is essential to conserve grazing lands and maintain their ecosystem goods and services.

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“…However, the Great Plains of the USA remains one of largest expanses of prairie ecosystems in the world [12][13][14]. These remaining prairie ecosystems are important for livestock grazing and provide numerous benefits of diverse habitat for avian, terrestrial, and aquatic species [15][16][17], carbon regulation [18,19], and hydrologic function [20,21]. The Northern Great Plains has exhibited cooling and wetting over recent decades, while the Southern Great Plains (SGP) has exhibited increased aridity [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing Tallgrass Prairies for Productivity and Ecological Function: A Long-Term Grazing Experiment in the Southern Great Plains, USA

et al. 2019

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The Great Plains of the USA is one of largest expanses of prairie ecosystems in the world. Prairies have been extensively converted to other land uses. The remaining prairie ecosystems are important for livestock grazing and provide benefits including habitat for avian, terrestrial, and aquatic species, carbon regulation, and hydrologic function. While producers, land management agencies, and some researchers have promoted livestock management using rotational stocking for increased production efficiency and enhanced ecosystem function, scientific literature has not provided a consensus on whether rotational stocking results in increased plant biomass or animal productivity. To address this research need, we established long-term grazing research using an adaptive management framework to encompass a wide range of production and ecological interactions on native grassland pastures. This paper describes objectives, design, and implementation of the long-term study to evaluate productivity and ecological effects of beef cow–calf management and production under continuous system (CS) or rotational system (RS) on native tallgrass prairie. Findings from 2009 to 2015 indicate that plant biomass and animal productivity were similar in the two grazing management systems. There were some indicators that forage nutritive value of standing biomass and soil nutrient content were enhanced in the RS system compared with the CS, yet individual calf body weight (BW) at weaning was greater in the CS. This prepares us to engage with producers to help determine the focus for the next phase of the research.

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Simulated water quality effects of alternate grazing management practices at the ranch and watershed scales

Cited by 29 publications

References 38 publications

Existing Accessible Modeling Tools Offer Limited Support to Evaluation of Impact Investment in Rangeland Ecosystem Services

Existing Accessible Modeling Tools Offer Limited Support to Evaluation of Impact Investment in Rangeland Ecosystem Services

Effects of Grazing Management on Spatio-Temporal Heterogeneity of Soil Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Grasslands and Rangelands: Monitoring, Modelling and Upscaling

Managing Tallgrass Prairies for Productivity and Ecological Function: A Long-Term Grazing Experiment in the Southern Great Plains, USA

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