The reseeding of depleted range and native pastures

Griffiths, David

doi:10.5962/bhl.title.34502

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…What this meant, in practice, was that range researchers would be discouraged, if not prohibited outright, from investigating the possible benefits of fire to grasslands, savannas, and forests throughout the West for most of the 20th century. It is impossible to know what might have happened had range research remained in the portfolio of the BPI, but there is reason to believe that fire might well have been viewed in a more favorable light, at least in certain parts of the country such as the Southwest (Griffiths, 1907(Griffiths, , 1910.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Coyote-Proof Pasture Experiment

Sayre

2015

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

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Few scientific experiments have influenced more land than one conducted in the Wallowa Mountains of eastern Oregon by the US Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Plant Industry and US Forest Service in 1907–1909. Four square miles of land were enclosed with a “coyote-proof fence,” guarded by a hunter, and stocked with an untended band of sheep. Data were collected on vegetation and sheep performance inside and outside the fence, and two years later success was declared. By 1910, the Forest Service had wrested range research from the Bureau of Plant Industry, subordinating the emerging field to timber production and fire suppression for decades to come. The young scientist who conducted the experiment, James Jardine, was promoted to Inspector of Grazing for the fledgling Forest Service, while his Wallowa collaborator, Arthur Sampson, went on to become “the father” of range science. The model of range management that they pioneered was applied across the US West and, later, on many rangelands in the developing world. Fencing and predator control are now generally viewed as unrelated management practices, but in the Forest Service model they were intimately connected. A critical physical geography of the Wallowa experiment reveals that the institutional context in which it occurred was more important than the findings themselves, and that although the results appeared to be scientifically rigorous and ecological, the methods were weak and the real criteria for “success” were economic. The high costs of fencing could be justified only if they were offset by a reduction in labor costs for herders. But without herders to guard the livestock, predators would have to be eliminated. Enormous public subsidies were required to implement the model, which continues to affect rangelands around the world.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Coyote-Proof Pasture Experiment

Sayre

2015

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

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“…Early researchers noted that variables other than livestock numbers-such as fire and the temporal distribution of rainfall-appeared crucial in explaining shifts between perennial grass dominance and annuals or shrubs (Griffiths 1907). Average precipitation declined from about 76 cm per year in the Texas panhandle to 20-41 cm per year around Tucson (depending on elevation), with a corresponding increase in the coefficient of variation.…”

Section: Range Science and "Original Capacity"mentioning

confidence: 99%

Climax and "Original Capacity": The Science and Aesthetics of Ecological Restoration in the Southwestern USA

Sayre

2010

Ecological Restoration

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This paper examines the historical origins of ecological restoration in the arid and semiarid deserts of the southwestern USA. Scientific knowledge and aesthetic valuations both emerged during a period of acute environmental degradation between 1893 and 1905, strongly influencing subsequent debates and practices. In science and aesthetics alike, the historical nature of southwestern landscapes was occluded: Clementsian ecology and range science posited a climax condition and an "original capacity" for livestock, while aesthetic treatments such as those of John Van Dyke saw transcendent and timeless beauty in the dramatic dynamics of actively degrading landscapes. In recent decades, southwestern ecologists have renounced Clementsian ecology and its implied telos of "pristine" presettlement conditions. But aesthetic ideals continue to influence broader debates and practices of ecological restoration in the region, specifically with regard to grasslands, riparian areas, livestock grazing, and fire.

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“…Even before the turn of the century, the problems on overgrazed mountain rangelands were beginning to be recognized. In 1897, the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted experiments in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming which demonstrated that timothy^could be successfully seeded at an elevation of 7,000 feet (2 130 m) (Griffiths 1907).…”

Section: Seedingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even though some of the earliest range management research in the United States was conducted on highelevation rangelands (for example , Cotton 1905, Cotton , 1908Griffiths 1907;Sampson 1913Sampson , 1921, relatively little range research is now being conducted on these mountain areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seeding and fertilizing to improve high-elevation rangelands /

Laycock¹,

Forest²,

Station³

1982

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project leader in charge of high-elevation range management research for the Intermountain Forest and Range Reasons for Seeding 2 Experiment Station at Provo and Logan, Utah, and this publication is related to that assignment. He earned B.S. Species for Seedmg 4 and M.S. degrees in range management from the Seeding Methods 5 University of Wyoming and a Ph.D. in plant ecology from Rutgers University. Discussion 8 FERTILIZING 9 Reasons for Fertilizing 9 RESEARCH SUMMARY°^' '^'^'"^^^"^^'^'^Ŝ eeding and fertilizing are two tools available to range '"^9^'^^^'"^''^^^^Nitrogen in Soils 12 managers to increase productivity on rangelands. Even use of Manure as Fertilizer 12 though some of the earliest range management research in the United States was conducted on high-elevation range-Discussion 12 lands, relatively little range research is now being m idi i/^A-ri/-,Mo /^i-ri=n» 1*3 conducted on these areas. The advent of strip mining and other activities which drastically disturb rangelands has APPENDIX 17 revived interest in seeding and fertilizer research. This paper summarizes the available literature on seeding and fertilizing high-elevation rangelands to assist those now charged with revegetating or increasing productivity on such areas and also as an aid to further research. Cover caption: Cattle on a high-elevation big sagebrush site in northeastern Utah that was plowed and seeded to a mixture of crested wheatgrass and smooth brome. Grass production on the seeded area averaged 1 500 to 1 700 kg/ha. Total grass production in the native sagebrush stand was only 450 to 500 kg/ha.

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The reseeding of depleted range and native pastures

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

The Coyote-Proof Pasture Experiment

The Coyote-Proof Pasture Experiment

Climax and "Original Capacity": The Science and Aesthetics of Ecological Restoration in the Southwestern USA

Seeding and fertilizing to improve high-elevation rangelands /

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