Publication Date
1997
Description
The purpose of this grazing study was to examine the response of a mountain meadow riparian system to different levels of livestock use in late June. Six pastures were used to evaluate three levels of grazing. Over an 8-year period there was a general trend of increased plant species and biomass. The largest increases in species number occurred in pastures receiving the most grazing use. The opposite was true for plant biomass. Total plant cover decreased on all dry meadows, but increased on grazed streamside locations. Shrub cover, including streamside willows, increased under all grazing treatments. Streambank stability increased and stream width decreased in all pastures. Although changes were slow in this cold mountain valley, we concluded that these early season grazing regimes allowed development of increased biomass and cover of herbaceous and woody streamside vegetation and measureable improvements in some stream channel conditions.
Citation
Clary, W P. and Kinney, J W., "Mountain Meadow Response to Riparian Grazing Strategies in Western USA" (2024). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 14.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1997/session21/14
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Mountain Meadow Response to Riparian Grazing Strategies in Western USA
The purpose of this grazing study was to examine the response of a mountain meadow riparian system to different levels of livestock use in late June. Six pastures were used to evaluate three levels of grazing. Over an 8-year period there was a general trend of increased plant species and biomass. The largest increases in species number occurred in pastures receiving the most grazing use. The opposite was true for plant biomass. Total plant cover decreased on all dry meadows, but increased on grazed streamside locations. Shrub cover, including streamside willows, increased under all grazing treatments. Streambank stability increased and stream width decreased in all pastures. Although changes were slow in this cold mountain valley, we concluded that these early season grazing regimes allowed development of increased biomass and cover of herbaceous and woody streamside vegetation and measureable improvements in some stream channel conditions.
