16 - Grazing as an Environmental Tool

Abstract

Attention to past and potential adverse effects of herbivory on native plant communities has tended to overshadow the positive influences of prescribed grazing on the forage and soil resources. “Dual objective grazing management”—grazing for environmental enhancement while converting the forage crop—offers promise as a strategy for large animal herbivory in the future and could serve as the basis of grazing programs on both private and public grazing lands. The grazing animal causes plant growth stimulation by deposition of saliva on the plant tissue during grazing; animal saliva contains thiamine (Vitamin B1) at concentrations previously reported to stimulate a growth response in plants. Both ungrazed and heavily grazed areas are less diverse in plant species than moderately grazed areas. Both common use and biological control of undesirable plants by grazing are based on selective grazing. Livestock fed seeds of desirable forage species can serve as dispersal agents across the landscape through their dung, thereby creating patches of desirable plants.