Livestock grazing potentially has substantial influence on fuel characteristics in rangelands around the globe. However, information quantifying the impacts of grazing on rangeland fuel characteristics is limited, and the effects of grazing on fuels are important because fuel characteristics are one of the primary factors determining risk, severity, continuity, and size of wildfires. We investi...

This study aims to assess the effect of grazing intensity on vegetation structure, soil nutrient concentrations and soil physical properties. The study was carried out in steppe rangelands of Saveh, Markazi province, Iran. Four sites with four grazing intensities including very high, high, moderate and non-grazed with the same ecological conditions were selected. To study various vegetation and...

Grazing systems may alter botanical composition and productivity of grasslands through differential use in time, space, or intensity. Seven simulated grazing treatments were applied six years in eastern Montana, USA to determine effects on plant community composition and standing crop. Treatments were moderate stocking (28.8 AUD ha 1 year ) of cattle using 3-pasture summer rotation, season-long...

The effect of cattle grazing on the soil nematode and protozoan communities, and on microbial biomass, was measured in Israel’s northern highlands. Three grazing areas were compared: (1) with 1 1 cow ha 1 y ; (2) 0 55 cow ha 1 y ; and (3) control—no grazing for almost 18 years. Soil samples were collected from the upper 10 cm level of each area (n1⁄4 24), in autumn, before the onset of the rain...

Warming and grazing significantly affect the structure and function of an alpine meadow ecosystem. Yet, the responses of soil microbes to these disturbances are not well understood. Controlled asymmetrical warming (+1.2/1.7°C during daytime/nighttime) with grazing experiments were conducted to study microbial response to warming, grazing and their interactions. Significant interactive effects o...

A modified litter-bag method was used to measure plant fineroot decomposition in relation to biomass quality in a mixedgrass prairie. Measurements were made during three years on moderately and heavily grazed pastures that had been under cattle grazing for 17 years prior to sampling. Although we found no significant difference in initial fine-root litter quality between grazing treatments, nitr...

In Mediterranean grasslands, the composition of vegetation and its nutritional quality for animals are strongly affected by climatic conditions prevailing during winter spring. Therefore, these seasonal ecosystems provide an opportunity to examine how variability in affects regeneration pasture vegetation. The intensity grazing this system can moderate, or alternatively exacerbate, effects on H...

Seed germination plays an important role in determining the composition and regeneration of plant populations (Stipa breviflora). However, the influencing factors and strategies employed for seed germination in desert grasslands under grazing remain unknown. Therefore, in this study, the reproductive allocation, seed density, seed properties, and corresponding seed germination rates of S. brevi...

Three grass species, Agropyron desertorum (Agde) and Agropyron elongatum (Agel) and recently, Bromus tomentellus (Brto) are mainly used for range improvement as mixed seeding in semi-arid areas of Iran. Because there is little information about management of these grasses, this study was conducted at the Sisab Research Station in northern Iran to evaluate their responses to grazing management a...