3RD EXAM CH 7

Question 1

We have already seen one example of small scale vegetation mapping in our consideration of
Rangeland Types (picture below). “Small scales” cover large areas and show less detail than
larger scale m
aps.

Answer 1

Add map

Question 2

What kinds of geospatial tools are used to collect information for vegetation mapping?

Answer 2

Slope, attributes, topography, aspect, precipitation, fire

Question 3

Compare and contrast inventory and monitoring.
When are they used? What kinds of information might be collected for each? Why would it be important to establish control plots when monitoring?

Answer 3

Inventory: Involve an assessment of vegetation resources or physical features at one point in times.
• Used/served as a baseline data to aid the development of range management plan.
• Information the would be collected would be:
o Total land area, Pasture sizes, Fences, Corrals, Building, roads, livestock, wildlife.
• Primary purpose of an inventory is to provide an accurate representation of existing conditions.

Monitoring: An evaluation process usually conducted to determine the response to a management program.

• Used to evaluate a particular grazing system or to determine the efficacy of a herbicide treatment.
• Characteristics: Precipitation, forage production, change in ecology, livestock productivity.

Question 4

What kinds of events are documented using photo points?

Answer 4

• Event photos can be used to document unplanned or unusual events such as fires, floods, erosion, wildlife damage, and vandalism.
• Practice photos can be used to document management practices, the effects of fire and post-fire recovery, the invasion and control of weeds and shrubs, and other long-term changes.

Question 5

Problem calculation:
Five 0.96 square foot plots are clipped in a pasture, dried and weighed.The masses in grams are:
31.5, 37.1, 29.7, 28.5,and 32.6 grams.
What is the average pounds per acre in this pasture?

Answer 5

(31.5 + 37.4 + 29.7 + 28.5 + 32.6)/5 x 100 =3194 pounds per acre.)

Question 6

Cover- write definitions for canopy versus basal cover here

(see p.125)

Answer 6

Cover may also be called dominance.
It can be correlated to biomass in some cases and also
gives an indicated of how much of the soil surface is covered and protected from raindrop impact
and water erosion.
In some forested situations, cover
measurements
may hint at the amount of
sunlight hitting the forest floor.

Question 7

Density

Answer 7

is defined as the number of individuals per area.
This may give information about how many young plants are being “recruited” to a plant population or community.

Question 8

Frequency

Answer 8

is defined as the number of subplots in which a species occurs.This gives an idea of how widespread (high frequency) or scarce or clumped (low frequency) a plant species is.

Question 9

What does the TEXT say are the major variables that influence grazing capacity determinations from year to year (see Figure 7.3 from the Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center)?

Answer 9

• The real problem in grazing capacity determination involves precipitation and forage production variability over the years and years.
• Regression equations that are reasonably reliable for predicting forage production from precipitation have been developed.

Question 10

Give brief definitions of “grazing intensity” and “utilization” (see p. 128).

Answer 10

Grazing Intensity- The cumulative effects grazing animals have on rangelands during a particular time period.

Utilization- Measured as a percentages of current year’s herbage production consumed or destroyed by herbivores.

Question 11

Utilization methods of all kinds are described in an Interagency Technical Reference Titled Utilization Studies and Residual Measurements (http://www.blm.gov/nstc/library/pdf/utilstudies.pdf).
A few methods are highlighted here. Be able to describe at least one utilization method.

Answer 11

Paired Plot Method forage from protected (see cage below) and unprotected plots is clipped and weighed at the end of the use period. The difference between these two weights represents the amount of forage consumed or otherwise destroyed during that period.

Example:
a 9 ft 2 caged plot (protected from grazing) is clipped, dried and weighed at the end of the season and the forage weighs 125 grams. A similar sized grazed area is clipped, dried and weighed and weighs 65 grams. The difference between the plots is 125

-
65 = 60 grams in 9ft 2.
To convert this to pounds per acre utilized:
60 grams/9 ft 2x 43560 ft 2/acre x 1 pound/453.59 grams = 640 pounds utilized per acre

Question 12

Residual Dry Matter

Answer 12

is an approach used commonly on California Annual Grasslands.Thi method is described in a publication titled
Guidelines for Residual Dry Matter on Coastal and Foothill Rangelands in California.(http://ucanr.org/freepubs/docs/8092.pdf).This method doesnot actually measure what has been utilized, rather, it focuses on what is left on the ground to protect the soil from erosion and to provide a safe seed site for germinating annual grasses.

Question 13

Range Condition
-
(review) What
percent of climax communities correspond to what range
condition classes (excellent, goof, fair, poor)?

Answer 13

Excellent 76-100
Good 50-75
Fair 26-50
Poor 0-25

Question 14

Decreasers

Answer 14

Highly palatable plants that decline in abundance with grazing pressure

Question 15

Increasers,

Answer 15

Moderately palatable and serve as secondary forage plants

Question 16

Invaders.

Answer 16

Species that encroach onto the site from adjacent sites in later stages of deterioration.

Question 17

Give several criticisms of Dyksterhuis’ method of range condition (p. 133)

Answer 17

This method does not allow for a realistic evaluation of rangelands invaded by exotic species such as the california annual grasslands or crested wheatgrass seeding in the ntermountain region. In some cases, grazing, values of seedings are improved over climax condition

Question 18

Under the Society for Range Management Task Group on Unity in Concepts in Terminology, how is a “Site Conservation Threshold” defined?

Answer 18

The point at which erosion appreciably accelerates due to management influences.

Question 19

Successional Management

Answer 19

The site that have been disturbed, and to restore it you look at restoration options and you choose the best one from there.

Question 20

Recognize the definition of an “Ecological Site” and“
Ecological Site Descriptions”(see p.133 and lecture notes).
Read the article by Pyke et al. 2002.“Rangeland Health Attributes and Indicators for Qualitative Assessment”

Answer 20

Ecological Site: Basic unit for management.

Ecological Site Descriptions: A kind of land with specific physical characteristics, which differs from other kinds of land in its ability to produce distinctive kinds and amounts vegetation.

From the article: Ecological site’s potential to conserve soil resoures and by a series of indicators for ecosystem processes and site stability.

Question 21

The 17 indicators of rangeland health are based three major attributes; soil/site stability,

Answer 21

• Hydrologic Function,
• Biotic Integrity

Question 22

What exactly is a rangeland health assessment as described by Pyke et al. (2002)and Vasquez et al.(2012). What is Successional Management?

Answer 22

Successional Management :

A site that has been disturbed and to restore it you can look at restoration options and you choose the best one from there.

Question 23

Briefly describe how the Rangeland Health Assessment can be integrated with Successional Management.

Answer 23

The reason why it can be indicated using the comparison of the 17 indicators at past and present time to deterine the best restoration method.