Influence of cattle stocking rate on the structural profile of deer hiding cover

Published source details Loft E.R., Menke J.W., Kie J.G. & Bertram R.C. (1987) Influence of cattle stocking rate on the structural profile of deer hiding cover. Journal of Wildlife Management, 51, 655-664.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Other biodiversity: Exclude grazers Action Link

Other biodiversity: Exclude grazers

A controlled study in 1983–1985 in the central Sierra Nevadas, California, USA, found more herbaceous vegetation and more vegetation cover in plots with cattle excluded, compared to grazed plots. Plants: At the end of the growing season, more herbaceous vegetation was found in ungrazed, compared to grazed plots (1,580 vs 150–760 kg/ha). By the end of the grazing season, cover of vegetation less than 50 cm tall was higher in ungrazed, compared to grazed plots (49–85% vs 17–68% cover), although these differences were present before cattle were introduced, in one of three vegetation types. Cover of vegetation less than 1 m tall was higher in ungrazed plots, in one of three vegetation types (75% vs 52–54%). Taller vegetation did not differ between ungrazed and grazed plots (10–72%). Methods: Three plots (22–29 ha) were fenced in 1983, and were grazed in 1984–1985 at one of three levels (no cattle, moderate grazing, or heavy grazing) for 48–74 days. Densities were 0.65–0.76 and 1–1.7 animal unit months/ha, respectively, and plots were grazed for up to 100 days each year. Each plot received a different treatment in each year. Vegetation cover was monitored in quaking aspen Populus tremuloides (all years), willow Salix sp., and corn lily Veratrum californicum (1984–1985) throughout each grazing season.