The 2008 Joint Meeting of the Society for Range Management and the America Forage and Grassland Council. |
Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - 8:40 AM
The Effects of Grazing Management Strategies on Burned and Unburned Riparian Areas in Central and Northern Nevada Great Basin
Kristen N. Schmidt, Dr. Sherman Swanson, Kurtiss Schmidt, Don Kozlowski, and Ryan Shane. Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, 1000 Valley Road, Reno, NV 89512
The interactive effect of wildfire and grazing strategies remains unclear for Northern and Central Nevada riparian systems. To obtain a better understanding of riparian response to wildfire, we cataloged grazing practices on 40 burned and 40 unburned lotic riparian areas over a period of pre and post 1999-2001 intense wildfire seasons. Through review of federal agency allotment files, discussions with land managers, and interviews with ranchers, we identified the grazing management approach for each riparian area. For analyses, grazing management will be aggregated by common practices including season, duration, and rotation of use; methods that attract cattle away from riparian areas or lessen their riparian concentration; and herd management and animal husbandry practices. Monitoring data (e.g., utilization), riparian functionality, vegetation type, topography, and landscape setting will be considered in addition to the management data. We intend to gain an understanding of the site-specific riparian grazing strategies applied on the ground and how grazing strategies interact with fire to influence riparian processes over time. We anticipate that the results of this study will provide insight for managing riparian grazing in anticipation of wildfire in the Northern and Central Nevada Great Basin.