Differences in riparian vegetation structure between grazed areas and exclosures
-
-
Authors: T. T. Schulz, and W. C. Leininger
Date: 1990
Journal: Journal of Range Management
Volume: 43
Number: 4
Pages: 295-299
Summary of Methods: The effects of livestock grazing on riparian vegetation characteristics were investigated along Sheep Creek in the Roosevelt National Forest, Colorado. The vegetation was compared between three riparian exclosures (fenced off for about 30 years) and adjacent grazed areas in the Sheep Creek allotment, which has a carrying capacity of about 600 AUMs. During the summer of 1985 and 1986, riparian vegetation density and cover, woody species density, willow basal diameter and age, peak standing crop, and utilization were measured.
Article Summary / Main Points: Total woody species density, willow cover, total herbaceous vegetation cover, litter cover, total shrub cover, and graminoid cover were greater inside the exclosures than the grazed areas. Forb and tree cover were similar between the two areas. Willow age and diameter were greater within the exclosed areas. Peak vegetation standing crop was higher in the exclosures and cattle utilized 65% of the growth. Both Nebraska and beaked sedge were unaffected by cattle grazing. Cattle grazing does affect much of the riparian vegetation structure.
Vegetation Types: Riparian and Wetlands
MLRA Ecoregions: 49 Southern Rocky Mountain Foothills
Agrovoc Control Words: Riparian zones Rangelands Grazing
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: cattle grazing, colorado, poa palustris, poa pratensis, salix spp., rocky mountains
Annotation: These results are applicable to many areas with montane riparian vegetation under grazing pressure. Removal or a change in season of grazing may be necessary to promote riparian shrub or grass and grasslike recovery.
-
Get article
Cite article with DOI
-