JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. Allen Press and Society for Range Management are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Range Management. AbstractImpacts of long-term cattle grazing on litter and soil organic matter were assessed in mixed prairie, parkland fescue, and foothills fescue grasslands of Alberta, Canada. Grazing regimes were of light to very heavy intensities, grazed early, late, and continuously during the growing season. Litter and soil organic matter were sampled in 0.1-nM2 quadrats and removed as live vegetation, standing litter, fallen litter, and soil organic matter. Litter and organic matter samples were air dried and sorted by size using sieves and an automatic sieve shaker. Organic carbon content was determined by thermal oxidation. Ground cover was determined using point frames, and heights of standing litter and fallen litter were measured.Heavy intensity and/or early season grazing had greater negative impacts on litter and soil organic matter than did light intensity and/or late season grazing. Under the former regimes there were significant reductions in heights of standing and fallen litter, decreases in live vegetative cover and organic matter mass, and increases in bare ground. More large particle-sized organic matter, particularly standing litter, occurred in controls than in grazed treatments since it would not be removed or trampled by grazing animals. More medium and small particle-sized organic matter occurred in grazed treatments than in ungrazed controls since vegetation likely decomposed more rapidly when it was trampled and broken down as animals grazed.

Litter and organic matter accumuiations can reduce soil water through interception of precipitation and subsequent evaporation of absorbed water. Interception varies with mass and water hoiding capacity (WHC) of litter and organic matter, and is highest from small precipitation events. WHC varies with vegetation type, which is affected by grazing regime. Thus long-term grazing could affect WHC of litter and organic matter and would be important in the hydrologic assessment of rangelands subjected to many small precipitation events throughout the growing season. The study was conducted in mixed prairie, parkland fescue, and foothills fescue grasslands in Alberta, Canada. Grazing regimes were of light to very heavy intensities, grazed early, Me, and continuously during the growing season. Litter and organic matter were sorted by sieving into various sized categories. Litter-soil cores were also evaluated. WHC of litter and organic matter was lower in mixed prairie than in fescue grasslands. WHC increased with increazed particle size, being higher for roots and standing and fallen litter than for organic matter. WHC of iarge particle-sized material decreased with heavy intensity and/or early season grazing. WHC was affected more by intensity than season of grazing. Grazing affected WHC through species composition changes, since species have different WHC, and through trampling which affected particle size. It was concluded that litter and organic matter WHC were important in rangeland hydrologic assessments.

Nutrients, soluble salts, and pathogenic bacteria in feedlot-pen manure have the potential to cause pollution of the environment. A three-year study (1998-2000) was conducted at a beef cattle (Bos taurus) feedlot in southern Alberta, Canada to determine the effect of bedding material [barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) straw versus wood chips] and season on the chemical and bacterial properties of pen-floor manure. Manure was sampled for chemical content (N, P, soluble salts, electrical conductivity, and pH) and populations of four groups of bacteria (Escherichia coli, total coliforms, and total aerobic heterotrophs at 27 and 39 degrees C). More chemical parameters of manure were significantly (P < or = 0.05) affected by season (SO4, Na, Mg, K, Ca, sodium adsorption ratio [SAR], total C, NO3-N, NH4-N, total P, and available P) than by bedding (K, pH, total C, C to N ratio, NH4-N, and available P). Bedding had no significant (P > 0.05) effect on the four bacterial groups whereas season affected all four groups. Numbers of E. coli and total coliforms (TC) were significantly higher by 1.72 to 2.02 log10 units in the summer than the other three seasons, which was consistent with a strong positive correlation of E. coli and TC with air temperature. The low ratio of bedding to manure in the pens was probably the major cause of the lack of significant bedding effects. Bedding material and seasonal timing of cleaning feedlot pens and land application of manure may be a potential tool to manage nutrients, soluble salts, and pathogens in manure.

systems on soil compaction and pasture production in Alberta. Can. J. Soil Sci. 82: 1-8. Livestock trampling impacts have been assessed in many Alberta grassland ecosystems, but the impacts of animal trampling on Aspen Boreal ecosystems have not been documented. This study compared the effects of high intensity [4.16 animal unit month per ha (AUM) ha -1 ] short-duration grazing (SDG) versus moderate intensity (2.08 AUM ha -1 ) continuous grazing (CG) by wapiti (Cervus elaphus canadensis) on soil compaction as measured by bulk density at field moist condition (Db f ) and penetration resistance (PR). Herbage phytomass was also measured on grazed pastures and compared to an ungrazed control (UNG). The study was conducted at Edmonton, Alberta, on a Dark Gray Luvisolic soil of loam texture. Sampling was conducted in the spring and fall of 1997 and 1998. Soil cores were collected at 2.5-cm intervals to a depth of 15-cm for measurement of bulk density (Db f ) and moisture content. Penetration resistance to 15 cm at 2.5-cm intervals was measured with a hand-pushed cone penetrometer. The Db f and PR of the top 10-cm of soil were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) greater by 15 and 17% under SDG than CG, respectively, by wapiti. Generally, Db f in both grazing treatments decreased over winter at the 0-7.5 cm and 12.5-15 cm depths, suggesting that freeze-thaw cycles over the winter alleviated compaction. Soil water content under SDG was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than CG. Total standing crop and fallen litter were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) greater in CG treatment than the SDG. The SDG treatment had significantly (P ≤ 0.05) less pasture herbage than CG areas in the spring (16%) and fall (26%) of 1997, and in the spring (22%) and fall (24%) of 1998, respectively. The SDG did not show any advantage over CG in improving soil physical characteristics and herbage production. Les auteurs ont aussi mesuré la phytomasse des herbages dans les parcelles pâturées et les parcelles intactes servant de témoin. L'étude s'est déroulée à Edmonton (Alberta) sur des luvisols gris foncés à texture loameuse. L'échantillonnage a eu lieu au printemps et à l'automne 1997 et 1998. Pour cela, les auteurs ont prélevé des carottes de sol jusqu'à une profondeur de 15 cm, à intervalles de 2,5 cm, et en ont établi le poids volumique apparent (Db f ) et la teneur en eau. Ils ont mesuré la résistance à la pénétration à la même profondeur, également à intervalles de 2,5 cm, avec un pénétromètre manuel à pointe conique. Dans la couche supérieure de 10 cm, le Db f et la RP sont sensiblement plus élevés (P ≤ 0,05) avec la PCD que la PC par les wapitis (de 15 % et de 17 %, respectivement). En général, aux profondeurs de 0 à 7,5 cm et de 12,5 à 15 cm, le Db f diminue pendant l'hiver pour les deux régimes, signe que la succession de gels et de dégels durant cette période atténue le compactage. En régime PCD, le sol renferme sensiblement moins d'eau (P < 0,05) qu'avec la PC. Au total, les peuplements sur pied et les débris végétaux au sol sont sensiblement plus nombreux ...

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Crested wheatgrass and Russian wildrye are used estensively as seeded pastures in the prairie region of western Canada. Their long-term impact on soil quality was studied at 4 sites, each including plant communities of native mised prairie rangeland and 17-to 27-year-old monocultures of crested wheatgrass and Russian wildrye, in southern Alberta, Canada. Root mass and soil chemical properties mere determined on the soil samples collected. Native rangeland had about 7.6 times more root mass than the seeded species from the 0-to 7.5cm depth and about equivalent mass from the 7.5 to JO-cm depth. For the seeded species, root mass was significantly less behveen rows than within rows. Soils in the native rangeland community had significantly greater soil organic matter and lower NOs-N, chemical indes, urease activity, and available phosphorus than those in the seeded pastures. Altering the plant community from native mised prairie to either a sequence of cropping followed by an introduced grass monoculture, or directly to an introduced grass monoculture, resulted in decreased root mass and organic matter, and monosaccharide content of dry aggregates. The seeded grasses could neither return nor maintain the chemical quality of the soils in relation to that of the native rangeland.