Cattle Grazing as a Biological Control for Broom Snakeweed: Vegetation Response

Broom snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae [Pursh] Britton & Rusby) increases and dominates rangelands following disturbances, such as overgrazing, fire, and drought. However, if cattle can be forced to graze broom snakeweed, they may be used as a biological tool to control it. Cattle grazed broom snakeweed in May and August 2004–2007. Narrow grazing lanes were fenced to restrict availability of herbaceous forage to force cattle to graze broom snakeweed. They used 50–85% of broom snakeweed biomass. Mature broom snakeweed plant density declined because of prolonged drought, but the decline was greater in grazed lanes. At the end of the study, density of mature plants in grazed lanes was 0.31 plants ?m22, compared...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: Rangeland Ecology & Management, Society for Range Management Rangeland Ecology & Management, P.O. Box 7065, Lawrence, KS 66044, biological control, forage allowance, grazing pressure, All tags... prescribed grazing, Fewer tags