Journal of Range Management, Volume 26 (1973): Recent submissions
Now showing items 1-20 of 143
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Journal of Range Management, Volume 26, Number 6 (November 1973)Society for Range Management, 1973-11-01
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Journal of Range Management, Volume 26, Number 3 (May 1973)Society for Range Management, 1973-05-01
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Journal of Range Management, Volume 26, Number 4 (July 1973)Society for Range Management, 1973-07-01
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Journal of Range Management, Volume 26, Number 5 (September 1973)Society for Range Management, 1973-09-01
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Journal of Range Management, Volume 26, Number 1 (January 1973)Society for Range Management, 1973-01-01
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Journal of Range Management, Volume 26, Number 2 (March 1973)Society for Range Management, 1973-03-01
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Wheatgrass Response to Seasonal Applications of Two Nitrogen SourcesFall, winter, and spring applications of 20 lb. N/acre as urea or as ammonium nitrate were applied in each of 3 years to two introduced grasses, crested and Siberian wheatgrasses, on Oregon's high desert range. Mature herbage yield increased with fertilizers, but there were no significant interactions with application date. Urea increased mean yield 3% more than did ammonium nitrate, but the increase may not be of practical significance. Crude protein concentration of mature yields, evaluated in 1 year only, was not influenced by either fertilizer or application time. Fall- and winter-applied N fertilizer increased available soil nitrate concentration in mid-April, but differences due to date and source of N were nil.
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Western Wheatgrass Germination as Related to Temperature, Light, and Moisture StressGermination of western wheatgrass was best when seeds were held for 16 hr at temperatures between 55 and 75 F and 8 hr at temperatures between 75 and 90 F daily. Germination was independent of light but was severely reduced by moisture stresses above 1.0 atm.
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Wax-treated Soils for Harvesting WaterShortage of water for livestock often limits the carrying capacity of rangeland. Water harvesting can provide extra water. Paraffin wax was applied as granules or flakes on the surface of two experimental watershed plots and allowed to melt and spread in the hot desert sun to form a hydrophobic soil surface, which then readily shed water. The wax-treated plots yielded an average of 90% precipitation runoff, compared to only 30% runoff from two untreated plots and to 100% runoff from a butyl-covered plot.
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Waterfowl Production on Stock-Watering Ponds in the Northern PlainsIn a 5-year study of stock-watering ponds in western North Dakota, pond size was found to be the major factor influencing duck use. As pond size increased, total pair and brood use per pond increased. Pairs used ponds as small as 0.1 acre in size, but broods were seldom seen on ponds of less than 1.0 surface acre. Dam-type ponds larger than 1.0 surface acre comprised only 29% of all man-made ponds on the study area but received 65% of the pair use and 87% of the brood use. Utilization of fenced ponds by pairs and broods was not significantly different from utilization of unfenced ponds. Grazing rates of 2 to 3 acres per AUM and lower rates permitted the development of grassy shoreline cover preferred by pairs and brushy and emergent shorelines preferred by broods. Duck pairs were significantly more numerous on older ponds and ponds with grassy shorelines but less numerous on ponds that had heavy deposits of sediment or were isolated from other wetlands. Broods were significantly more numerous on ponds with brushy shorelines and emergent vegetation than on those without. Broods were less numerous on turbid and newly constructed ponds. The most suitable stock-watering units for maximum waterfowl production were dam-type ponds of 1.5 surface acres, or larger, built in gentle to rolling terrain away from major sources of siltation.
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Water Storage Capacity Oo Contour Furrows in MontanaA field study in eastern Montana related water storage capacity of contour furrows constructed by Model B furrowing machines to furrow age. New contour furrows have a water storage capacity of nearly 1 inch, but this decreases with time owing to natural weathering, intrafurrow dam failure, and furrow breaching. Contour furrows have an average effective life of 25 years, but this ranges from less than 20 years to more than 35 years, depending on initial construction. A new furrowing machine design is suggested that would leave intrafurrow dams of undisturbed soil material, resulting in furrows with either the same storage capacity but at a greatly reduced cost per acre, or over twice the storage capacity at about the same cost per acre as furrows built by a Model B machine.
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Water Repellency of Soils under Burned SagebrushBurning of sagebrush produces water repellency in soils. Maximum repellency occurs at soil temperatures between 1400 and 1800 degrees F. The field test indicated that repellency is produced as a result of the burning of the sagebrush leaf mulch under the shrub rather than the burning of the live plant material.
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Water Harvesting Efficiencies of Four Soil Surface TreatmentsWater harvesting efficiency of four soil surface treatments was studied for 5 years at Gillette, Wyoming, and the Central Plains Experimental Range near Nunn, Colorado. The surface treatments consisted of rangeland, salt (NaCl), plastic covered with pea gravel, and asphalt roll roofing. Average water harvesting efficiencies ranged from 5% on rangeland at Gillette to 105% from the asphalt roll roofing treatment at the Central Plains Experimental Range. Spring and fall snowstorms resulted in water harvesting efficiencies of over 100% at the Central Plains Experimental Range. Precipitation was highest in April, May, and June and lowest in August.
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Vegetative Response to Chemical Control of Broom Snakeweed on a Blue Grama RangeAll rates of picloram, either alone or in combination with low rates of 2,4-D, effectively controlled broom snakeweed on a blue grama range in southeastern Wyoming. Picloram also eliminated the low amounts of plains pricklypear present among the dense stands of snakeweed. Blue grama was initially injured by the 0.5 and 1 lb/acre rates of picloram, but needle-and-thread was damaged only by the 1 lb/acre rate. This initial injury to the grasses had a renovating effect upon the range, and, in combination with the elimination of undesirable plants, resulted in no table range improvement as measured 5 years after treatment. The study illustrates how herbicides may be a useful tool for selective manipulation of rangeland vegetation.
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Vegetation Changes between 1943 and 1965 on the Shortgrass Plains of WyomingGround cover estimates on permanently marked plots in East Central Wyoming were compared between 1943 and 1965. On grazed native range plots, shortgrasses increased and midgrasses decreased when comparing 1965 to 1943. Plots in exclosures showed a decrease in shortgrass cover and an increase in cover of midgrasses. Generally, big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and plains pricklypear (Opuntia polyacantha) increased markedly on both open and exclosure plots. Due to excessive grazing pressure, the total perennial grass cover on a section of abandoned farmland was nearly 35% less in 1965 than in 1943.
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Value of Black Hills Forest Communities to Deer and CattleAspen, pine, and mixed aspen-pine communities were studied at three different locations in the Black Hills National Forest of South Dakota from 1968 to 1970. Overstory densities were greatest in pine with a basal area (diameter at breast height) of 180.5 ft2 per acre. Aspen-pine had 133.6 ft2 per acre and aspen 89.5 ft2 per acre. Understory production was inversely related to overstory density with 590 lb/acre air-dried forage in aspen, 415 lb/acre in mixed aspen-pine, and 215 lb/acre in pine. Aspen communities appeared to represent better feeding areas for both deer and cattle than mixed aspen-pine or pine. However, use by white-tailed deer, estimated by pellet group density, was greatest in mixed aspen-pine. Cattle use, estimated by chip density, was greatest in aspen and least in pine.
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Use of Molasses Containing Urea as a Supplement to Pangolagrass Pastures in Northeast MexicoSupplements of molasses, molasses + 3% urea, and molasses + 6% urea at a level of approximately 1 kg/head/day on pangolagrass pasture during the winter and spring months resulted in significantly increased weight for 3/4 Zebu x 1/4 Criollo bulls. Urea was more effective during the winter months when forage availability was at its lowest, than during the spring months. It is suggested that the use of pangolagrass pasture with molasses and urea supplementation when appropriate could significantly increase production from rangeland.
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Use of a Crested Wheatgrass Seeding by Black-tailed JackrabbitsBlack-tailed jackrabbit grazing pressure on a seeding of crested wheatgrass surrounded by native shrub vegetation has been estimated by the use of pellet counts. Grazing pressure falls off rapidly away from the edge of the field, 70% of the total being concentrated in a 300-m band around the edge of the field. By calibrating the pellet counts against others taken in an area of known jackrabbit density, and by using values available in the literature for forage consumption of jackrabbits, an estimate has been made of the absolute grazing pressure on the field in the 300-m band which is predominantly used. The forage removed by jackrabbits in this zone is estimated to be in the order of 60 kg/ha/yr. This is less than 10% of nearly all the yield values found, including those in poor years, in comparable seedings in this area. Apparently jackrabbits do not cause serious damage to established seedings of wheatgrass even when jackrabbit densities are high, as they were at the time of this study.
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Ungulate Diets in the Lower Grand CanyonPlant fragments were identified and quantified by a microscopic examination of the dung of the burro, cattle, and bighorn in the western end of the Grand Canyon, Arizona. Genera of plants common to the diets of all three ungulates were: Sphaeralcea, Bromus, Tridens, Muhlenbergia, Acacia, Ephedra, Opuntia and Tidestromia. Wherever free ranging large herbivores occur, as in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, it is possible to study their diets by analysis of their dung. The diet of modern large herbivores can be compared with the unique Pleistocene record of ground sloth and extinct mountain goat dung preserved for over 11,000 years in adjacent caves.
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Trends in Western Ranch Prices and ValuesIn the 1930's the western stock ranches were generally underdeveloped and underpriced in terms of their potential. Over the past 40 years, however, a number of factors have, in combination, greatly changed this situation. Now, the picture is that of overpricing, and to such a degree as to cause difficult problems in ranch management and in land management.