Maintaining the Integrity of Native Prairies Through Grazing Management

Maintaining the Integrity of Native Prairies Through Grazing Management

Poncho Ortega

CATTLE GRAZING

• Beneficial • Neutral • Detrimental

The Fear to Graze Cattle

Proper Grazing Management Monitoring Range Responses Wildlife can overgraze too!!

Native Plant Diversity Opportunity for selection

• 979,000 hunters, $2.3 billion annually • Hunters’ expenditures- 106,000 jobs • $ 654 million in state revenue • $ 793 million in federal tax money http://www.ckwri.tamuk.edu/news/news-item/article/hunting-operations-contribute-heavily-to-s-tx-economy/ (Accesed November 3, 2012)

The Absence of Cattle Grazing • Encroachment of invasive grasses • Habitat loss for some wildlife species • Excessive accumulation of fine fuel…wildfires

INVASIVE SPECIES • Guineagrass

• Buffelgrass • Kleberg bluestem Changes in rainfall patterns and temperature

Cattle Overgrazing and Change in Climatic Patterns Exotic Species Invasion Cattle Grazing Removal

?

WHAT WE MAY HAVE AFTER ELIMITATING THE EXOTICS?

PATCH BURNING AND CATTLE GRAZING

Prescribed burning reduced guineagrass density

• Burned areas: 58,667 plants/ha • Control:

93,333 plants/ha

Species/ m2

Ramirez (2005), Texas A&M Univ. – Kingsville, MS thesis.

10 forbs for Deer Lazy daisy

6 forbs and grasses for Bobwhites

Wine cup

Partrige pea

Dayflower

Dayflower

Desmanthus

Coreopsis

Silver bladderpod

Witchgrass

Wood sorrel

Bristlegrass

Ridgeseed

Smutgrass

Redseed plantain American snoutbean Verbena

CATTLE GRAZING AND RANGE RECOVERY

CATTLE GRAZING AND RANGE RECOVERY Treatment Burned 04, 05, 07 Burned 04 Burned 04, 05 Burned 04, 07 Control (No Burn)

Similarity Index 65% 39% 33% 32% 19%

CONCLUSIONS • Cattle grazing can be beneficial, neutral or detrimental for rangelands.

• The absence of cattle grazing may favor: • Invasive grasses encroachment • Accumulation of fine fuels… and wildfires!!

• Habitat loss for some wildlife species • Cattle grazing and prescribed fire may be used to favor reestablishment of valuable native plants on areas dominated with some exotics.

• The removal of cattle grazing may not be enough to recover deteriorated habitats, additional disturbances like fire may be needed to accelerate the process.