Indices of vegetation abundance, composition, and grazing were monitored for the grazing seasons of 1980-81 at Hays, Kans., in 2 pastures. One pasture was moderately grazed with yearling steers season-long, while the other was triple-stocked for only the fmt half of the season. Some areas were grazed repeatedly throughout the grazing seasons, resulting in overgrazed patches, which increased in number as seasons progressed. By the end of each grazing period, more than 799$1 of each pasture was grazed, but only 2346% of the areas consisted of overgrazed patches depending on the year and treatment. Grazing treatment also influenced whether the locations of patches remained the same from year to year. Species composition of overgrazed patches was different from the surrounding vegetation, but soil properties were not.Free-ranging herbivores selectively graze rangeland because of differences in soil, vegetation, or topography, resulting in a diet with a floristic and nutritive composition unlike that of the range average (
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A 9-year grazing trial was conducted to compare shortgrass vegetation and steer responses under intensive-early stocking (IES) at 2 stocking rates to season-long stocking (SLS). The stocking rates were (1) equal to SLS, with twice as many steers used for the first half of the SLS grazing season (2X-IES), and (2) greater than SLS, with 3 times as many steers used for the same period (3X-IES). The hypothesis tested was that SLS and 2X-IES would be similar and sustainable in terms of productivity and vegetation composition, whereas 3X-IES would be different and not sustainable. The 3 treatments were assigned to 6 pastures in a randomizedcomplete block. Grazing was initiated on or near 1 May each year and continued until about 15 July for IES and about 1 October for SLS. Steers were weighted at initiation of grazing and in mid-July, and SLS steers were weighed in October. Vegetation data were collected in July and October in each pasture from 10 randomly located plots. Species composition of grasses was estimated, and grasses and forbs were clipped separately to determine biomass availability. Steer total gain and average daily gain (ADG) under SLS and 2X-IES were equal (C-0.10) during the early season, but 3X-IES gain and ADG were less (P
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