Avian responses to late-season grazing in a shrub-willow floodplain
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Authors: T. R. Stanley, and F. L. Knopf
Date: 2002
Journal: Conservation Biology
Volume: 16
Number: 1
Pages: 225-231
Summary of Methods: Stanley and Knopf looked at the effects of a 2-month grazing/34-month rest rotation system on the presence of birds in a northcentral Colorado riparian area. The study compared pre and post sample vegetation and bird censuses on 2 grazed pastures and 2 controls prior to and after 2 cycles (6 years) of the grazing system. The authors found no statistical difference in vegetation change between the grazed and ungrazed pastures. Bird species increased in numbers across all guilds (eurytopic, mesotopic and stenotopic) as well as an increase of 9 species overall. Although bird numbers increased on the grazed plots, they did not increase at the same rate of the control plots. Stanley and Knopf urged that if a management plan had goals for a maximum recovery of a certain bird species, then cattle grazing should be avoided.
Article Summary / Main Points: None
Vegetation Types:
MLRA Ecoregions:
Agrovoc Control Words: Riparian zones Rangelands Wildlife
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: avian guilds, rest-rotation grazing, willow canopy, arapaho national wildlife refuge
Annotation: Cattle stocking rates for the two grazed pastures: 2.4-2.7 AUMs/ha for pasture 3 and 3-3.5 AUMs/ha for pasture 4.
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