Cattle, Sheep, Goats, and Horses: What's the Difference for Working Rangelands?

Larson, Stephanie; Barry, Sheila; Bush, Lisa

doi:10.3733/ucanr.8524

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 11 publications

(7 reference statements)

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“…At sheep‐grazed sites, these changes in guild composition began at lower slope values: forb proportion decreased above 13° and grass proportion increased above 23° (Figures 3e and 4d). This could be related to the higher adaptation of sheep to steeper slopes than cattle (McDaniel & Tiedeman, 1981; Díaz Falú et al, 2014; Larson et al, 2015), which suggests that conditions favour high grass proportions at steep slopes combined with sheep.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Livestock species rather than grazing intensity shape plant guild proportions in interaction with multiple environmental drivers in grassland from the Pyrenees

Rodrı́guez

Ibáñez

Chocarro

et al. 2023

Applied Vegetation Science

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Questions Does grazing management shape the proportion of plant guilds (grasses, legumes, forbs and sedges) in mountain grasslands? Which properties of grazing management have the greatest effect on the proportion of plant guilds: grazer diversity/identity or grazing intensity? Are the effects of grazing management on guild proportion modified by other environmental variables that explain plant guild distribution at broad spatial scales? Location Mountains in the Pyrenees. Methods We modelled the proportion of grasses, legumes, forbs and sedges using data from the PASTUS database (n = 96), which contains a wide range of environmental and management conditions due to the high variety of environmental conditions in mountain grasslands in the Pyrenees. We used a machine‐learning algorithm to find those variables that best explained the proportions of each plant guild. We focussed on the differences between the levels of grazing intensity and the grazing species included in the model, and on detecting interactions between grazing variables and climate, topography and soil conditions. Results The proportion of forbs and grasses strongly depended on the grazing livestock species at broad spatial scales. Only soil pH showed a higher overall explanatory power on guild distribution. In general, forbs were favoured in cattle‐ and grasses in sheep‐grazed grasslands, the latter also being favoured on acidic soils, while forbs were favoured in more alkaline soil conditions. However, the effects of those factors (grazing species and soil pH) were modulated through interactions with several other environmental variables, including soil Mg, K and P, and terrain slope. In contrast, grazing intensity was a minor driver of guild distribution. Conclusions Our results provide information about the relationship between plant functional diversity, indicated by the different plant guild proportions, and grazing management in the Pyrenean grasslands. This information could be useful for developing hypotheses for future experimental studies and for designing policies to improve the management of mountain grasslands.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Livestock species rather than grazing intensity shape plant guild proportions in interaction with multiple environmental drivers in grassland from the Pyrenees

Rodrı́guez

Ibáñez

Chocarro

et al. 2023

Applied Vegetation Science

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“…Goat husbandry became important, along with the small-scale ranching of all other livestock species. The mixed herds currently present on many communal (ejido) rangelands, involving species with different foraging characteristics (Larson et al, 2015), are a practical response to the transformation of the former grasslands into low-productivity, but more heterogeneous, rangelands (Anderson, 2003).…”

Section: Discussion Grazing and Range Degradationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the history of the Mayorazgo de Rincón Gallardo, a huge land possession in the area (mid 18 th to late 19 th Centuries), and the hacienda of Ciénega de Mata, one of its components, has been the subject of several books, the history of grazing has not been analyzed; much less have the relationships between livestock history and grassland condition been explored. As different livestock species, having different ways of foraging, are suited better for different types of range (Larson et al, 2015), the history of livestock changes can offer clues to the history of changes in range conditions.…”

Section: Research Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

Livestock and grassland interrelationship along five centuries of ranching the semiarid grasslands on the southern highlands of the Mexican Plateau

Mellink

Riojas‐López

2020

Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene

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Native grasslands worldwide have been degraded by grazing, but the processes involved have been studied insufficiently. Grasslands were a major habitat on the southern section of the Mexican Plateau when the Spaniards arrived 500 years ago. Since then, they have been impacted heavily through grazing, but the details and history of such impacts have not been established. We aimed at untangling almost 500 years of grazing of these grasslands, based on extensive searches of published information and of documents in historical archives. We identified three periods of ranching: Cattle, from the mid-16th to the mid-17th Centuries; sheep, reflecting a change from tall to short grasses; and, finally, goats and horses, along with sheep, asses and some cattle, after serious grassland degradation by the mid-20th Century. Overgrazing has impacted grassland composition in the region and its capacity to support livestock, but also, strongly affect some 20 species of native vertebrates and an unknown number of plant and invertebrate species. The current condition of some ranges and a livestock exclosure indicate that grassland improvement is possible, but realistic objectives based on biodiversity conservation and livestock production should be targeted, rather than utopic pre-livestock frameworks. Grasslands in the region at the time of Spanish arrival possibly had a mixture of grasses and herbs, but buffalo grass and the central Mexico tobosa grass are potential initial range management targets for grassland recovery of the ranges in worst condition, while blue gramma and the Mexican plateau gramma are good targets for ranges that still have some grass cover.

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“…The utilization of livestock presents the risk of consumption of non-target species (e.g., Kirby et al 1997;Masin et al 2018;Mosley et al 2017). For example, goats consume a wide array of vegetation, including forbs, woody plants, and grass, and their selectivity of non-target plants may be influenced by various factors, including the availability and abundance of vegetation on site, nutritional needs, experiences, and inherited and learned behaviors (Larson et al 2015). Further, the application of a broadleaf herbicide poses the risk of reducing native forb cover and richness, which has potential long-term effects on plant community composition if non-target plants are unable to recover following herbicide application (Rinella et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Suppression of Potentilla recta by targeted goat grazing and aminopyralid on northern intermountain rangelands

Juckers

Stewart

2022

Invasive plant sci. manag.

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Potentilla recta L. is an invasive perennial forb threatening rangelands in western North America. To identify best management strategies to control P. recta, we examined targeted goat grazing conducted once (pre-flowering) versus twice (pre-flowering and flowering/seedset), aminopyralid application, and integrated targeted grazing and aminopyralid as management strategies. We also examined the interaction between treatments and seasonality (spring and summer) and explored the possibility of off-target effects to non-target species. Two intermountain rangelands in British Columbia, Canada, were treated, one with targeted grazing treatments only and one with targeted grazing and herbicide treatments. Targeted grazing treatments were implemented in 2019 and 2020, and aminopyralid was applied once in 2019 at a rate of 56 g ai ha−1. Potentilla recta aboveground biomass and number of seed heads declined following targeted grazing treatments at both field sites in 2019 and 2020 when compared to the control, with no differences between targeted grazing treatments. In May 2020, prior to the implementation of targeted grazing for the second year, a decrease in P. recta biomass was not measured in the targeted grazing treatments, but biomass was 87-99% less in the herbicide only and targeted grazing plus herbicide treatments. In July 2020, declines in biomass and seed heads in the herbicide only and targeted grazing plus herbicide treatments did not differ from grazing twice, and aminopyralid effects did not differ between the three-herbicide treatments. Further research is required to examine legacy effects of targeted goat grazing and aminopyralid on P. recta, reapplication frequency of treatments, and determine whether integrating targeted goat grazing and aminopyralid is needed in the long-term to manage P. recta. A long-term study is also needed to examine off-target effects from targeted goat grazing and aminopyralid and ways to mitigate these effects to promote healthy native rangeland plant communities.

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Cattle, Sheep, Goats, and Horses: What's the Difference for Working Rangelands?

Cited by 6 publications

References 11 publications

Livestock species rather than grazing intensity shape plant guild proportions in interaction with multiple environmental drivers in grassland from the Pyrenees

Livestock species rather than grazing intensity shape plant guild proportions in interaction with multiple environmental drivers in grassland from the Pyrenees

Livestock and grassland interrelationship along five centuries of ranching the semiarid grasslands on the southern highlands of the Mexican Plateau

Suppression of Potentilla recta by targeted goat grazing and aminopyralid on northern intermountain rangelands

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