Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Mandan, North Dakota » Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #413199
Research Project: Transdisciplinary Research that Improves the Productivity and Sustainability of Northern Great Plains Agroecosystems and the Well-Being of the Communities They Serve

Location: Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory

Title: The LTAR Grazing Land Common Experiment at Northern Plains

Author
item Toledo, David
item Hendrickson, John
item Kobilansky, Chantel
item Liebig, Mark
item Kronberg, Scott
item Christensen, Rachael
item Archer, David
item Branson, David - Dave
item Rand, Tatyana
item Campbell, Joshua
item IGATHINATHANE, CANNAYEN - North Dakota State University

Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Quality
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/2/2024
Publication Date: 8/1/2024
Citation: Toledo, D.N., Hendrickson, J.R., Kobilansky, C.L., Liebig, M.A., Kronberg, S.L., Christensen, R., Archer, D.W., Branson, D.H., Rand, T.A., Campbell, J.W., Igathinathane, C. 2024. The LTAR Grazing Land Common Experiment at Northern Plains. Journal of Environmental Quality. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20604.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20604

Interpretive Summary: Grazing lands in the northern Plains sustain abundant plants, wildlife, and livestock. Potential shifts toward more dry and variable weather conditions may be challenging for managing these lands. Effective and feasible management methods need to be developed in collaboration with, and for land managers. The northern Plains Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network grazing lands common experiment was designed to meet this need. The LTAR experiment looks at management options such as mob grazing, multi-species grazing, prescribed fire, and rangeland seeding. Alternative practices will be updated based on the interests of scientists and focus group members. LTAR research aims to help land managers improve current and future economic and ecosystem benefits.

Technical Abstract: The interaction of climate, grazing, fire, and early human use influenced the development and maintenance of Great Plains grasslands. The absence or intensification of these same drivers currently threatens the diversity of plant and animal communities. There is a need to evaluate the impacts of alternative grazing management practices on vegetation and soil using fire and grazing management. The Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network Northern Plains site, in the northern portion of the Great Plains, initiated a Grazing Lands Common Experiment in 2019 to answer producers' and researchers' questions about whether the tactical application of fire or grazing can reduce the dominance of Kentucky bluegrass in northern Great Plains ecosystems. Stakeholders, which include landowners and diverse organizations, are engaged in the co-production process by meeting at least once a year with project scientists. The experiment contrasts a prevailing practice (season-long grazing at moderate stocking rate) with four alternative practices: 1) mob-grazing by cattle, 2) multi-species grazing (mob grazing by cattle with goats at key times of the year), 3) prescribed fire in the fall, and 4) a prescribed fire in the fall followed by cattle grazing the subsequent year. The experiment is on a five-year rotation that coincides with the USDA-ARS project planning cycle. Every five years, the treatment with the best overall outcomes is applied at a field scale. This experiment aims to develop alternative agroecological practices that optimize current and future economic and ecosystem benefits.