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ARS Home » Northeast Area » University Park, Pennsylvania » Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #309775
Title: Pasture plants of the Northeastern United States

Author
item Goslee, Sarah
item Gonet, Jeffery

Submitted to: Popular Publication
Publication Type: Popular Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/22/2014
Publication Date: 9/22/2014
Citation: Goslee, S.C. 2014. Pasture plants of the Northeastern United States. Northeast Pasture Consortium. p. 1.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Temperate humid grazing lands are an important component of the landscape of the northeastern Unites States, as well as of the economy of this region, yet unlike their European counterparts, little is known about their basic ecology. During an eight-year survey of 44 farms across the northeastern United States, we sampled 136 modified Whittaker plots on pastureland, some multiple times (482 plots sampled across all years), and found 326 identifiable plant species. These pastures were highly diverse, with a mean of 9 species per 1 m2 , and as many as 32 in 1 m2 and 73 in the whole 1000 m2 area sampled. Although most agronomic species have been introduced to the region, nearly half of the species we identified were native. This guide provides information on distribution and abundance of common pasture species, as well as many photographs and identification hints.