NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/708333
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2016 • NEBRASKAland 29 slightly higher stocking rate can result in most grasses being grazed but only a small proportion of wildflowers, creating a heterogeneous vegetation structure while leaving plenty of blossoms for pollinators. Under even higher stocking rates, most plants are grazed fairly intensively, and it can take them a year or more to regain their previous vigor. Cattle grazing can also be used as a very focused treatment to suppress invasive or overly dominant plant species by repeatedly clipping them off during their peak growing season. Smooth brome, reed canarygrass and other invasive grasses, for example, can form monocultures with very little wildlife habitat value. Because those grasses grow primarily in the spring, intensive spring grazing can keep them short and sap their energy. If cattle are removed as the growth period of those grasses is ending, summer grasses and wildflowers can grow unimpeded, take advantage of those weakened plants and become more abundant. Although the impact of this kind of grazing treatment is temporary – brome and canarygrass vigor returns within a year or two – applying intensive spring grazing every several years can diversify the plant community and improve wildlife habitat. Using cattle as wildlife artists is still a growing field (so to speak), and land managers continue to learn how best to use bovine tendencies to create quality habitat. However, a few keys to success have emerged. First, it is important to manage a particular patch of habitat differently from year to year to maintain diverse populations of both animals and plants. Second, it is important to periodically graze an area hard enough that it temporarily weakens the dominant grasses. Grazing rotations in which cattle leave a pasture before they graze the vegetation very short create landscapes in which habitat conditions don't vary much from place to place. More aggressive grazing, followed by long rest periods, provides better habitat contrast between pastures and better wildlife diversity. In addition, the recovery periods after intensive grazing often include the kind of temporary 'weediness' that is so valuable to many wildlife species. As is common with other artists, most cattle are not appreciated for their good taste until after they are dead. While it's true that chronic overgrazing can degrade the quality of grasslands, it's unfair to paint all cattle with the same brush. Cattle can create unique and valuable habitat conditions for wildlife that may be impossible through any other means. Please, don't udderestimate their value. ■ This area was grazed intensively a few years prior to this photo, but given time to recover, the grasses reasserted their dominance. While some wildlife need this kind of heavy cover, many prefer a more patchy vegetation structure. Chris Helzer is the Director of Science for The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska. He has been a contributor to NEBRASKAland since 1994. Chris blogs at prairieecologist.com.