Effects of Stocking Rate on Quantity and Quality of Available Forage in a Southern Mixed Grass Prairie

Abstract

The objective of tbie study ~8s to qu8ntify the long-term (25 ye8rs) effecte of be8vy (HC) 8nd modcnte (MC) r8te!3 of &ckin~ on qtmntity 8nd qtmlity of forage 8v8iLble. Study desip required frequent lmrvest of rt8nding crop on 5 r8np rite8 in twice rep& c8ted, 244 ha tre8tment p8eturee. Resulta from the 20montb study lowed 8boveground st8nding crop dynrrmke were aimil8r in botb trerrtments, qu8nthy of8v8ikbk fonp ~8s gre8ter in the MC tbrn HC tr#tment, qtmlity of l v8K8ble forye ~8s gre8ter generally ia tbe HC tb8n MC treatment, 8nd tb8t heavy etocking 18vored a domhunce of w8rm-ee8eon rhortgr8mea u opposed to 8 domiarace of w8rm-se8son mid-. Averaged acroms drtea 8nd 8djusted for differencea among puturea in rrnp rite composftion, 8boveground berb8ceoue at8nding crop 8ver8ged 1,341 kg/b8 in the HC p8aturee M compared to 1,816 kg/al, in the MC tratment p8stures. Crude protein md 0-c matter digatibility 8venged 8.6% 8nd 49.396, respectively, in the HC p8atura md 7.7% md 46.7% respectively, in the MC p8&um. It ia concluded tb8t the grerter vuiltion among yeur in cow/calf production in the HC tburhtbcMCtrcrrtmentbprimuilybcclrrwforrp8vrilrbllltyin tbe HC treatment is lees tb8n in tbe MC treatment.

Patch dynamics under rotational and continuous grazing management in large, heterogeneous paddocks

“…This was expected since this species is known to decrease under heavy stocking (Heitschmidt et al, 1985(Heitschmidt et al, , 1989. It was more abundant on the clay-loam than on the shallow-clay soils.…”

Pattern of interspecific tiller defoliation in a mixed‐grass prairie grazed by cattle

“…The patterns of interspecific tiller defoliation observed in this study parallel the long-term patterns of grazing-induced species replacement observed in this grassland. Generally, BOCU decreases in absolute abundance, STLE and ARLO remain relatively constant and BUDA and HIBE increase dramatically with increasing grazing severity (Heitschmidt e/o/., 1985;1989). Shortgrass species were more leniently grazed than dominant midgrasses because a greater portion of their total lamina area was in close proximity to the soil surface (Fig.…”

Changes in aboveground primary production and carbon and nitrogen pools accompanying woody plant encroachment in a temperate savanna

“…These activities continue through recent times (e.g. Heitschmidt et al, 1989;Ansley et al, 1998;Teague, 1999), resulting in landscapes comprised of a mosaic of Prosopis stands that vary in canopy cover, stature and stem density (Ansley et al, 2001;Asner et al, 2003).…”