Evaluating the role of grazing strategies on plant production and soil health across a decade timescale

Authors: Schantz, Merilynn; Adhikari, Kabindra; Smith, Douglas; GOODWIN, DOUGLAS - California Polytechnic State University; TOLLESON, DOUGLAS - California Polytechnic State University; Harmel, Daren

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/2/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: n/A Abstract only

Technical Abstract: Frequent and extreme climate events threaten the ecological integrity of range and pasture lands across the United States. Producing resilient soil and plant communities that can withstand frequent disturbances reduces the environmental and economic costs associated with responding to these disturbances. The pasture use and grazing strategy is an often-overlooked variable that can directly affect ecosystem resilience across watersheds. In the southern Great Plains of central Texas, the USDA-ARS Grassland, Soil, and Water Laboratory has a mission of developing technology and solutions that increase efficient use of soil and water resources, enhance forage and crop production, and support sustainable agricultural production in healthy ecosystems. For this study, we sought to determine how plant production and soil health differed between rotational, conventional year-long, and cultivated grazed pastures over a 10-year period. Our initial results suggest that the rotational grazing system produced higher plant production during drought conditions when compared to conventional year-long grazing systems. While organic matter did not differ between rotational and conventional grazing systems, it was higher than cultivated grazed pastures. These findings suggest that adaptive grazing strategies may be more resilient to climatic disturbances that disrupt the ecological structure and function of southern Great Plains ecosystems.