Rangelands: Recent submissions
Now showing items 21-40 of 2975
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Rangelands Table of Contents Volume 42, Number 3 (2020)Society for Range Management, 2020-06
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A GPS-based Evaluation of Factors Commonly Used to Adjust Cattle Stocking Rates on Both Extensive and Mountainous RangelandsPublished research provides guidelines to reduce stocking rates on areas >10% slope and >1.6 km from water because these areas may be considered ungrazeable. Data from 180 cattle tracked by GPS collars for 1 to 4 months at seven ranches in New Mexico, Arizona, and Montana on average resulted in grazeable area calculations that were approximately 10% higher than those derived from published guidelines. In several cases, published guidelines yielded more conservative stocking rate estimates compared with our GPS-based calculations. However, our data should be interpreted with caution because most data were collected over a single season or year. Our results support recommending local experience and information be used in applying published guidelines to adjust stocking rates. These guidelines may not reflect site-specific management and the adaptability of cattle to local conditions. Animal GPS tracking is a sound tool to monitor spatial impact of grazing on rangelands and could be used to enhance commonly used stocking rate adjustment tools, such as annual monitoring of precipitation, forage production, and grazing intensity on key areas. © 2020 The Authors
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Using Stubble Height to Monitor Livestock Disturbance Near Streams: How a Recent Critique is Relevant to the Protection of Cold-water SalmonidsThe measurement of utilization and residual vegetation (stubble height) is a valuable tool in managing livestock disturbance but it is often improperly measured, and results misinterpreted. A common situation for these concerns is when stubble height protocols and rationales used for terrestrial areas are applied to riparian zones and the protection of fish habitat. Protocols used to assess stubble height near streams and serve as a surrogate for fish habitat may differ from approaches used to protect upland plant vigor. Measurements of stubble height designed to protect fish habitat can include the measurement of all herbaceous vegetation along the greenline and should be evaluated following the removal of livestock and after the growing season ends. In allotments with threatened salmonids or other at-risk aquatic species, stubble heights necessary to protect fish habitat may exceed what is necessary to maintain forage production for livestock. Properly determined and applied near stream stubble height standards can protect important fish habitats while providing accountability for grazing management. Consistent livestock management above standards will improve salmonid habitats and undermine arguments used by organizations that would like to limit livestock grazing on public lands. If range conservationists and fisheries biologists work together to develop monitoring protocols for stubble height or other metrics that can be used to improve fish habitat, the application of proper standards to manage livestock disturbance near streams should benefit the fish, the land management agencies, and the ranchers that rely on grazing public lands. © 2020
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Corrigendum to “Using WebGIS to Develop a Spatial Bibliography for Organizing, Mapping, and Disseminating Research Information: A Case Study of Quaking Aspen” [Rangelands 41 (2019) 244–247] (Rangelands (2019) 41(6) (244–247), (S0190052819300483), (10.1016/j.rala.2019.10.001))The authors regret that co-author Stan G. Kitchen was mistakenly omitted from the list of authors in the published paper. The corrected list of authors is presented above. The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused. © 2020 The Author(s)
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Rangelands Table of Contents Volume 42, Number 2 (2020)Society for Range Management, 2020-04
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Cattle Ranching in the “Wild Horse Desert” – Stocking Rate, Rainfall, and Forage ResponsesNo research involving the comparative evaluation of grazing methods has been performed in South Texas at an operational scale. We report initial findings from a large-scale demonstration project involving two cattle stocking rates and two grazing methods; our focus was on forage standing crop and forage utilization responses. Erratic, but typical, rainfall patterns and resulting forage production proved our stocking rates (though realistic for this region) to be unsustainable over the long term, regardless of grazing method. The “Wild Horse Desert” is a harsh but resilient environment following periods of above average rainfall. © 2020 The Society for Range Management
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Paying for the Presence of Predators: An Evolving Approach to Compensating RanchersConversion of rangeland habitats in North America (to more intensive agriculture or to urban/exurban uses) concentrates livestock and predators on a shrinking landscape, making conflict inevitable. Rural communities often feel disenfranchised by efforts to protect or restore native predators. Ranching businesses typically bear the direct costs (from livestock depredation) and indirect impacts associated with coexisting with predators. Many researchers indicate that direct compensation for depredation of livestock does not increase tolerance for predators within ranching communities. The emerging use of “payments for ecosystem services” (or PES) programs offers an alternative to direct depredation compensation programs. With the recent re-establishment of gray wolves (Canis lupus) in California, a Pay for Presence program for conserving large carnivores offers an alternative for supporting habitat conservation while acknowledging (and at least partially compensating) the direct and indirect costs to ranchers. © 2020 The Society for Range Management
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Rangelands Table of Contents Volume 42, Number 1 (2020)Society for Range Management, 2020-02
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Larkspur Poisoning of Cattle: Plant and Animal Factors that Influence Plant ToxicityToxic larkspurs (Delphinium species) cause large economic losses from cattle deaths, increased management costs, and reduced utilization of pastures and rangelands. Larkspur toxicity to cattle can vary by geographic location due to toxic alkaloid content. Larkspur alkaloid chemistry can be used to predict plant toxicity. Cattle breeds differ in their susceptibility to larkspur poisoning. As cattle age from yearlings to two-year olds, they become less susceptible to larkspur. Heifers are three times more likely to be poisoned at the same dose of larkspur alkaloids than either bulls or steers, suggesting that they must be managed differently on rangelands where larkspur is present. © 2020
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Conversation as an Education Medium for the Age of Distraction - the ‘Art of Range’ PodcastThe Art of Range is an educational podcast designed for rangeland practitioners, including ranchers, rangeland professionals, and researchers. Rangeland management is both art and science; the practice of any art depends on mastery of science, a body of knowledge. Rangeland science, as a truly integrative discipline that encompasses soils, plants, animals, people, and economics, invites lifelong learning and cross-cultural learning. True education is a science of relations; this requires communicating with depth and breadth. The structure of modern life in the developed world promotes thin communication, continuous partial attention, and personal and ideological isolation even as moderns are hyper-connected through digital communication devices. A conversational podcast permits deeper exploration of important topics and promotes synthesis and application to one's own physical and cultural context. The Art of Range podcast in 2019 explored a variety of specific topics, such as rangeland management fundamentals, ecosystem monitoring, targeted grazing, managing rangelands for resiliency to climate uncertainty and risk, and understanding and valuing ecosystem goods and services. © 2020 The Society for Range Management
