Adaptive Grazing Management for Recovery

Abstract

Plant community change is inevitable, and grazing management strongly affects how change occurs. Heavy or frequent defoliation reduces individual plant vigor and productivity. Animal preferences for particular pasture locations and plant species reduce the bene ts of moderate average stocking rates in continuously grazed paddocks with diverse vegetation and topography, be- cause a few high-quality, palatable plants often receive the majority of the defoliation. These nonrandom defoliation patterns constantly change interplant relationships. As pro- ductivity and diversity of preferred plants declines, animals shift to other places and plants. Thus, frequently visited plant communities can become focal points of grazing-induced degradation that expands over time, and makes the commu- nity more susceptible to extreme events.

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rangelands_v35i5_steffen