Grazing Nassella: Maintaining purple needlegrass in a sea of aggressive annuals
-
-
Authors: M. R. George, S. Larson-Praplan, M. Doran, and K. W. Tate
Date: 2013
Journal: Rangelands
Volume: 35
Number: 2
Pages: 17-21
Summary of Methods: This is a synthesis of 43 articles examining the effects of grazing on purple needlegrass in the California annual grasslands. Also presented here are the results of a 2-year clipping study in Northern California to examine the specific effects of frequency, timing and intensity of defoliation on purple needlegrass.
Article Summary / Main Points:
• Research has shown purple needlegrass’s response to grazing and protection from grazing is varied and inconsistent.
• Spring grazing needs to be timed to ensure that there is adequate soil moisture and time for regrowth, flower and set seed.
• Intensity of spring grazing has to be heavy enough to remove most of the seed heads of annual grasses.
• Rotational grazing with a recovery period or rest between periods of grazing has been shown to increase the number and vigor of purple needlegrass present.
• Clipping study found intensity of clipping had no effect on tillering or regrowth, very intense clipping eventually killed purple needlegrass plants.
• Cooler temperatures slow down regrowth rate and therefore will require less frequent deflation to benefit purple needlegrass.
• Grazing management has to adapt to the changing conditions found on the site.Vegetation Types: California Grasslands (including all annual grasslands)
MLRA Ecoregions: Not Applicable
Agrovoc Control Words: Rotational grazing Weeds Rangelands
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Professional Resource Knowledge
Keywords: native grass, purple needlegrass, defoliation, clipping, tillering, regrowth, targeted grazing
Annotation: This paper was classified as professional knowledge as the two-year replicated study was very small and not robust enough to publish elsewhere. This is a nice summary of the current knowledge and research using grazing to impact annual production and benefit purple needlegrass. These results and ecological principles discussed in this paper are applicable to many situations where perennial grasses are competing with cool season annuals though close monitoring should be implemented as results may vary. As with all grazing research these results are most applicable to similar landscapes, seasons, livestock types and weather conditions.
-
Get article
Cite article with DOI
-