GRAZED STUBBLE HEIGHT AS A CRITERION FOR CONTROLLING SEDIMENT PRODUCTION FROM GRAZING LANDS

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Efforts by state and federal agencies to develop standards and guidelines for protecting and enhancing water quality on grazing lands have led to suggestions that grazed stubble height criteria could be used to determine when cattle should be removed from a specific pasture or grazing area. Until recently only indirect scientific evidence from agronomy and laboratory studies gave support to the stubble height concept. Consequently, a grazing study was initiated on a Montana ranch in 1997 to determine the reduction in overland sediment achieved by grazing a pasture to a predetermined stubble height. Treatments consisted of 7 cm (3 in) grazed, 7 cm (3 in) clipped or mowed, 15 cm (6 in) grazed; 15 cm (6 in) clipped and untreated or natural forage plant height. The five treatments were used in a two-year trial spanning 1997 to 1999. At the conclusion of this study the magnitude of sediment production was related to the number of intense rain events during the March through June period rather than total precipitation. There was a significant year effect in terms of sediment accumulation (P < 0.01) but no year by treatment effect (P = 0.11). Even though a significant difference in sediment accumulation was detected between the shorter and taller stubble heights (P = 0.04) in both 1998 and 1999, the difference could not be explained by grazed stubble height alone. Close grazing (7 cm stubble) consistently ranked lowest in sediment production (P < 0.01) among all treatments, including the ungrazed control. These results suggest that changes in plant community structure and microtopographic caused by grazing influence sediment entrapment (retention) on hillslopes more than those caused by plant height.