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ARS Home » Plains Area » Mandan, North Dakota » Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #400724
Research Project: Sustainable Agricultural Systems for the Northern Great Plains

Location: Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory

Title: Livestock grazing is an effective conservation tool for Californian coastal grassland ecology: an eight-year study on vegetation dynamics

Author
item EVANS, ANDREW - Santa Lucia Conservancy
item WOODWARD, BRIAN - Santa Lucia Conservancy
item WYCKOFF, CHRISTY - Redwing Ranch Llc
item Toledo, David
item Duke, Sara
item FISCHER, CHRISTY - The Trust For Public Land
item NUNEZ, CLAUDIO - Santa Lucia Conservancy
item SIERRA-CORONA, RODRIGO - Santa Lucia Conservancy

Submitted to: Applied Vegetation Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/13/2023
Publication Date: 7/12/2023
Citation: Evans, A.W., Woodward, B.D., Wyckoff, C.A., Toledo, D.N., Duke, S.E., Fischer, C., Nunez, C., Sierra-Corona, R. 2023. Livestock grazing is an effective conservation tool for Californian coastal grassland ecology: an eight-year study on vegetation dynamics. Applied Vegetation Science. 26. Article e12736. https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12736.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12736

Interpretive Summary: Most California grasslands are now invaded by naturalized annual grasses. These grasses have disrupted native ecosystems and have affected native species diversity as well as increased fine fuel loads. We monitored paired grazed and ungrazed areas to evaluate the use of livestock grazing to promote native species, reduce invasive species, and reduce fine fuel loads. Our study found that targeted grazing can reduce the amount of fine fuels while improving native annual forb abundance without risk to native species as a whole. However, the overall impacts of targeted grazing on native species diversity in the California grasslands studied, were relatively small.

Technical Abstract: Questions: Livestock grazing is an expanding land management tool for habitat and fuel management in California grassland ecosystems, despite mixed conclusions about its effects. Our study investigates the following questions: - Does a targeted grazing regime promote grassland functioning by clearing bare ground and reducing dead litter cover? - Does targeted grazing reduce grassland fuels? - Does targeted grazing promote native species diversity and cover? - Does targeted grazing reduce invasive species cover and diversity? Location: The Santa Lucia Preserve, Carmel, California, USA. Methods: Monitoring grazed and ungrazed treatment plots within 17 exclosure sites, we surveyed the effects of a targeted grazing regime on bare ground cover, litter cover and depth, herbaceous height, and diversity and cover of different native and non-native species groups over an eight year period. Results: Grazing successfully increased bare ground by 3% cover, decreased litter depth (by 3.6 cm) and cover (-11.5%), and decreased herbaceous height (-3.2 cm). Grazed plots had greater cover of native annual forbs (+1.2% cover), while decreasing Bromus diandrus (-5.8% cover). There was no difference in both native and non-native species diversity. Conclusions: Targeted grazing can be an appropriate tool to accomplish conservation goals, including biomass management and canopy clearing, while improving native annual forbs without risk to native species as a whole. Further steps in adaptive management must examine how grazing application may be altered to further promote native species and to inhibit invasive growth.