Recovery Rate of Depleted Range Sites under Protection from Grazing

Abstract

Highlight It is estimated to take from 20 to 40 years for overgrazed ranges in the rough fescue and ponderosa pine zones to recover to excellent range condition when fully rested. Little change in plant composition took place inside exclosures, placed on poor condition range, in less than 10 years following fencing. It took longer for the sites to progress from poor to fair condition than from fair to good condition. The main plants to increase with protection were bluebunch wheatgrass and rough fescue. The main species to decrease were Sandberg bluegrass, low pussytoes, and rabbitbrush. Literature Cited

Secondary plant succession and vegetation recovery in two western Great Basin Desert ghost towns

“…The differences between the first and second courses of succession were based on the rate and patterns of succession, respectively. Different rates of succession in arid and semiarid regions have been shown to be affected by drought (Costello, 1944;Weaver, 1954), grazing (McLean & Tisdale, 1972) and the degree of disturbance (Webb & Wilshire, 1980). Different patterns of succession are based on the idea that a variety of early successional species may colonize a disturbed site, but the later seral stages are dominated by the same species.…”

Horse ranching increases biodiversity in a foothills parkland prairie in northern Kananaskis Country, western Alberta

“…It might take longer for competitive exclusion to reduce the species number, or there may be sufficient grazing by wild ungulates in the "non-grazed" area to slow it. studies of recovery of rough fescue grasslands (Willms et al 1985;Mclean and tisdale 1972) show that, after several decades of recovery, species number was not reduced. However, in the longer term, Festuca campestris dominates to the exclusion of most other species (Mclean and tisdale 1972).…”

“…Based on studies of recovery from grazing in rough fescue communities (Willms et al 1985;Mclean and tisdale 1972), the non-grazed area is likely at a midseral stage. there may be a number of distinct biodiversity-rich intermediate stages of succession in foothills prairies based on different levels of grazing pressure and other factors.…”

Range extensions of grassland species in southern interior British Columbia

“…Moreover, these grasslands are largely isolated from the prairies by the Rocky Mountains and, except for some plant associations in southwestern Alberta (Looman 1982;Tisdale 1982), they are generally dissimilar to most grassland communities in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Several researchers described the floristics of southern interior grasslands in the Kamloops area (Tisdale 1947;van Ryswyk et al 1966;McLean and Tisdale 1972). This paper reports observations on three plant species not previously encountered on these grasslands.…”