the superficial strata of ground have been perennially exposed to the action of natural agents such as heat, cold and water. however, grazing agent was not different from them when soils were investigated from temperate rangelands of kashmir and caused the soil compaction, soil structure degradation and loss of soil organic c and c/n ratio. soils from three grazing intensities were investigated...

Woody encroachment in grasslands has become increasingly problematic globally. Grazing by domestic animals can facilitate woody encroachment by reducing competition from herbaceous plants and fire frequency. Herbivorous insects and parasitic plants can each exert forces that result in the natural biological control of encroaching woody plants through reducing seeding of their host woody plants....

We investigated the effects of overgrazing on the foraging behavior of livestock on a Mongolian steppe, by quantifying some behaviors of cattle, sheep and goats foraging in a lightly and a heavily grazed area in summer and winter. All animal species showed higher walking velocity and tended to show higher step/bite ratio when they foraged in the heavily grazed area than in the lightly grazed ar...

Frequent and intense defoliation of grasses has been associated with the evolution of “grazing morphotypes” that exhibit a variety of vegetative traits correlated with improved grazing resistance. While recovery from a seed bank is not considered an important grazing resistance mechanism, relatively little is actually known regarding seed (caryopsis) production in grazing morphotypes of caespit...

Rangelands are globally extensive, provide fundamental ecosystem services, and are tightly coupled human-ecological systems. Rangeland sustainability depends largely on the implementation and utilization of various grazing and burning practices optimized to protect against soil erosion and transport. In many cases, however, land management practices lead to increased soil erosion and sediment f...

Nitrous oxide (N2 O) emissions are subject to intra- and interannual variation due to changes in weather and management. This creates significant uncertainties when quantifying estimates of annual N2 O emissions from grazed grasslands. Despite these uncertainties, the majority of studies are short-term in nature (<1 year) and as a consequence, there is a lack of data on interannual variation in...

Patch-burn grazing is a management framework designed to promote heterogeneity in grasslands, creating more diverse grassland structure to accommodate the habitat requirements of many grassland species, particularly grassland birds. Published studies on the effects of patch-burn grazing on passerines have been conducted on relatively large (430–980 ha pastures), contiguous grasslands, and only ...