Rangelands and Wildlife

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Rangelands and Wildlife

• Fall 2005

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Rangelands

• Plant communities dominated by grasses, forbs,
  shrubs
• Predators to livestock
• Hunted species

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Rangeland management

• Most managed by Federal Government
• Multiple use
• What factors determine the location of
  grasslands?
• Moisture availability

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Rangeland management

• What limited wildlife diversity and abundance?
• Water availability
• Winter and nesting cover
• Trees and other woody cover
• Food availability

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Succession

• What Impacted succession?
• Fire evolved with fire
• Grazing

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Fire

• Incorporate use of fire
• Advantages include
• Release of nutrients
• Reduce residual build up of plant material
• Stimulate early succession plants
• Set back succession
• Inexpensive

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Fire

• Incorporate use of fire
• Disadvantages include
• Loss of nesting or winter cover
• Mortality
• Potential loss of nutrients

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Grazing

• Allocate resources based on stocking rates
• Animal Unit Months (AUMs) the amount of forage
  consumed by a 454-kg animal (cow/calf) in one
  month
• AUM Equivalents
  - 5 sheep
  - 6 goats
• - 9.6 pronghorn
  - 10 white-tailed deer
  - 1.9 elk

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Grazing

• Main use of rangelands
• Competition for food
• Riparian habitat
• Nesting cover
• Biodiversity

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Continuous Grazing
Water
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Deferred Grazing

• Defer grazing until range plants set seed
• Deferred rotation
• 4 pasture deferred grazing
• 3 pastures grazed year-long and 4th deferred for
  4 months
• Rotate each year

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DEFERRED GRAZING
Graze 1st
Graze 2nd
Graze 6th
Graze 3rd
Water
Graze 4th
Graze 5th
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DEFERRED GRAZING
Graze 1st
Graze 2nd
Repeat cycle
Graze 6th
Graze 3rd
Water
Graze 4th
Graze 5th
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DEFERRED GRAZING
Graze 1st
Graze 2nd
Graze 3rd
Water
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Rest Rotation Grazing

• Rest period is a year or more
• Mosaic pattern seen

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REST ROTATION GRAZING
REST (No grazing)
Graze 1st
Graze 4th
Graze 2nd
Water

REST (No grazing
Graze 3rd
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REST ROTATION GRAZING
REST (No grazing)
Graze 1st
Repeat cycle
Graze 4th
Graze 2nd
Water

REST (No grazing
Graze 3rd
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Food items and grazing

• Livestock large bodied
• Bulk eaters
• Wildlife selective feeders
• Choose plants

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Fences

• Control livestock
• Impact wildlife
• Winter and summer range

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Fences

• Modifications
• Electric fences

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Riparian areas

• Terrestrial and aquatic components
• Presence of permanent or ephemeral water
• Water flowing through channels
• Presence of plants that require readily available
  water
• Between water and upland range

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Riparian areas

• Important for terrestrial and aquatic wildlife
• Unique soil and vegetation
• Limited across rangeland
• Birds, herps, mammals
• 1 of landscape in US

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Riparian areas

• Impacted by grazing
• Concentrated livestock eat plants
• Compaction of soil
• Trample plants
• Fence riparian areas

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Water

• Artificial water holes
• Controversial

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Water

• Tinajas
• Springs
• Guzzlers
• Small ponds
• Springs