Short-term response of riparian vegetation to 4 grazing treatments
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Authors: C. A. Popolizio, H. Goetz, and P. L. Chapman
Date: 1994
Journal: Journal of Range Management
Volume: 47
Number: 1
Pages: 48-53
Summary of Methods: Foliar cover responses of montane riparian vegetation, with respect to 4 grazing treatments (long-term grazing, long-term protection, recent protection following long-term grazing, and recent livestock grazing following protection) were measured over two summers on the Sheep Creek watershed in north central Colorado. Measurements were taken in June of the second year and August of both years. Percent cover was compared among treatments to assess differences.
Article Summary / Main Points: Over the two years similarity decreased between long-term grazing and recent protection treatments. When long term-grazed and recently grazed sites were compared, there was an increase in similarity. The same is true for comparisons between long-term protection and recent grazing, and recent and long-term protection. The highest increase in similarity occurred between recently protected and recently grazed sites. The similarity between long-term grazing and long-term protection is stable, but low. Grass cover was higher on the recently protected site when compared to the long-term protected site and recently grazed site. Cover of Trifolium repens on the recently protected site decreased dramatically. There were no differences among treatments for foliar cover of forbs, mosses, rushes, shrubs, and sedges. Two years of grazing in long-term protected areas increased plant foliar cover while two years of protection resulted in increased litter accumulation, decreased bare ground and increased foliar cover of forage species over areas under long-term grazed areas.
Vegetation Types: Riparian and Wetlands
MLRA Ecoregions: 48A Southern Rocky Mountains
Agrovoc Control Words: Riparian zones Grazing Protection
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: baseline trend, foliar cover, grazing, plant inventory, protection, riparian
Annotation: This was a replicated study over two years and is applicable to riparian areas in the Rocky Mountains. The lack of detailed information about the type of grazing, duration of the study and the lack of replication limit the strength and wide spread applicability of these findings. Additionally the merits and drawbacks of the grazing strategies and protective measures cannot be assessed just with the study of percent foliar cover alone. Studies which identified soil types, soil porosity and depth, soil organic matter content, litter deposition, channel morphology, streambank erosion, sediment load, willow cover, forage production, percent utilization, plant density, plant frequency, and with foliar cover are more robust and provide a better understanding of riparian system responses, particularly those relating to grazing strategies and protective measures.
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