Long-term soil nitrogen and vegetation change on sandhill rangeland
Issue Date
1997-09-01Keywords
soil analysiscarbon
soil fertility
nutrient uptake
forbs
Oklahoma
biomass production
grazing intensity
plant communities
nitrogen content
plant litter
botanical composition
rangelands
grasses
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Berg, W. A., Bradford, J. A., & Sims, P. L. (1997). Long-term soil nitrogen and vegetation change on sandhill rangeland. Journal of Range Management, 50(5), 482-486.Publisher
Society for Range ManagementJournal
Journal of Range ManagementDOI
10.2307/4003702Additional Links
https://rangelands.org/Abstract
The effect of livestock grazing on organic and N in rangeland soils is not well defined. In this study on sandy rangeland in western Oklahoma, we sampled 8 pastures moderately grazed by cattle and 8 adjacent exclosure ungrazed by livestock for 50 years. The sagebrush was largely controlled by herbicide in the study areas. The C and N concentrations in the surface 5 cm of soil, total herbage production, and total N uptake by were similar (P > 0.05) in grazed and nongrazed area. Carbon and N concentrations in soils sampled to a constant mass to a depth of 5 cm or less were not (P > 0.05) different from concentrations determined on soil sampled to a constant depth of 5 cm. When calculated on a content basis, grazing increased (P < 0.001) the bulk density (1.35 g cm-3) compared to nongrazed pastures (1.19 g cm-3) and had a significant (P < 0.01) effect on C and N in the surface 5 cm of soil. Litter and total N in liter were greater (P < 0.01) on nongrazed areas. Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash) and sand bluestem (Andropogon hallii Hack.) produced more herbage and had greater frequency on nongrazed areas, whereas blue grama [Bouteloua gracilis (H.B.K.) Lag. ex Griffiths], sand dropseed [Sporobulus cryptandrus (Torr.)Gray], and western ragweed (Ambrosia psilostachya DC.) increased in frequency on grazed areas. Thus, 50 years of moderate grazing by cattle had no measurable effect on C and N concentrations in the surface 5 cm of the sandy soil or on total N uptake by plants compared with nonograzed areas; however, significant differences occurred in species composition which may alter mechanisms of C and N balance.Type
textArticle
Language
enISSN
0022-409Xae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.2307/4003702