Summary
Few field studies have attempted to relate effects of actual livestock grazing on soil and plant water status. The present study was initiated to determine the effects of periodic defoliations by cattle during spring on soil moisture and plant water status in a crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn. and A. desertorum (Fisch. ex Link) Schult.) pasture in central Utah. Soil moisture in the top 130 cm of the soil profile was depleted more rapidly in ungrazed plots than in grazed plots during spring and early summer. Soil moisture depletion was more rapid in grazed plots in one paddock after 1 July due to differential regrowth, but there was no difference in soil water depletion between plots in another paddock during the same period. This difference in soil water depletion between paddocks was related to a difference in date of grazing. Although more water had been extracted from the 60 cm to 130 cm depths in ungrazed plots by late September, cumulative soil moisture depletion over the entire 193 cm profile was similar in grazed and ungrazed plots. Prior to 1 July, grazing had no effect on predawn leaf water potentials as estimated by a pressure chamber technique; however, after 1 July, predawn leaf water potentials were lower for ungrazed plants. Midday leaf water potentials were lower for grazed plants before 1 July, but did not differ between grazed and ungrazed plants after 1 July. A 4- to 8-day difference in date of defoliation did not affect either predawn or midday leaf water potentials. The observed differences in water use patterns during spring and early-summer may be important in influencing growth and competitive interactions in crested wheatgrass communities that are subject to grazing by domestic livestock.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Blackburn WH, Knight RW, Wood MK (1982) Impact of grazing on watersheds: a state of knowledge. Texas Agri Exp Sta Misc Publ Bo. 1496
Caldwell MM, Richards JH, Johnson DA, Nowak RS, Dzurec RS (1981) Coping with herbivory: photosynthetic capacity and resource allocation in two semiarid Agropyron bunchgrasses. Oecologia (Berlin) 50:14–24
Fernandez OA, Caldwell MM (1975) Phenology and dynamics of root growth of three cool semi-desert shrubs under field conditions. J Ecol 63:703–714
Frank AB (1981) Plant-water relationships of crested, pubescent, slender, and western wheatgrasses. In: Smith JA, Hays VW (eds) Proceedings of the XIV International Grassland Congress. Westview Press, Boulder, CO pp 399–401
Gifford GF, Springer EP, (1980) A selected annotated bibliography on grazing hydrology. Utah Agr Exp Sta Res Rep No. 50
Glass GV, Peckham PD, Sanders JR (1972) Consequences of failure to meet assumptions underlying the fixed effects analysis of variance and covariance. Rev Educ Re 42:237–288
Jensen S (1983) Soil Survey of the USU Range Experiment Area in Tintic Valley, Utah. White Horse Associates, Smithfield, UT
Jensen S (1985) Response to “Critique of a report entitled: Soil Survey of the USU Range Experiment Area in Tintic Valley, Utah”. White Horse Associates. Smithfield, UT
Johnson DA (1978) Environmental effects on turgor pressure response in range grasses. Crop Sci 18:945–948
Johnson KL (ed) (1986) Crested wheatgrass: its values, problems, and myths; symposium proceedings. Utah State Univ., Logan, UT
Lorenz RJ (1986) Introduction and early use of crested wheatgrass in the Northern Great Plains. In: Johnson KL (ed) Crested wheatgrass: its values, problems, and myths; symposium proceedings. Utah State Univ., Logan, pp 9–20
Malechek JC, Dwyer DD (1983) Short duration grazing doubles your livestock? Utah Sci 44:32–37
Nnyamah JU, Black TA (1977) Rates and patterns of water uptake in a Douglas fir forest. Soil Sci Soc Am J 41:972–979
Olson BE (1986) Tiller dynamics of Agropyron desertorum in response to grazing and resource manipulation. Ph D Dissertation, Utah State Univ., Logan, UT
Rambal S (1984) Water balance and root water uptake by a Quercus coccifera L. evergreen shrub. Oecologia (Berlin) 62:18–25
Richards JH (1984) Root growth response to defoliation in two Agropyron bunchgrasses: field observations with an improved root periscope. Oecologia (Berlin) 64:21–25
Ritchie GA, Hinckley TM (1975) The pressure chamber as an instrument for ecological research. Adv Ecol Res 9:165–254
Sala OE, Lauenroth WK, Parton WJ, Trlica MJ (1981) Water status of soil and vegetation in a shortgrass steppe. Oecologia (Berlin) 48:327–331
Sisson DV (1962) Combining biological data from European corn borer experiments over locations and years. Ph D Dissertation, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Stoddart LA, Smith AD, Box TW (1975) Range Management. McGraw-Hill, New York
Turner NC, Long MJ (1980) Errors arising from rapid water loss in the measurement of leaf water potential by the pressure chamber technique. Aust J Plant Physiol 7:527–537
Walter H, Leith H (1960) Klimadiagramm-Weltatlas. G. Fisher, Jena
Waring RH, Cleary BD (1967) Plant moisture stress: evaluation by pressure bomb. Science 155:1248–1255
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wraith, J.M., Johnson, D.A., Hanks, R.J. et al. Soil and plant water relations in a crested wheatgrass pasture: response to spring grazing by cattle. Oecologia 73, 573–578 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00379418
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00379418