Reports and Interpretation

Basic information

Ranch or producer name, pasture name, transect number, and GPS Coordinates assist in knowing what area was sampled (spatial reference) and return to the exact location for future assessments. It also allows for accurate spatial analysis, identification of specific areas within the landscape that exhibit certain characteristics. The date lets the land manager know what was occurring during that specific time (temporal reference). Conditions can be dramatically different during different times of the year so it is important to document when the monitoring took place. Additionally, when multiple years of data are available, a comparative analysis can be done (trends) to determine if changes have occurred and help develop long-term management strategies. Basic information with date allows for repeat assessments from the same location and time (replication). The collector names helps keep a record of who assisted with the assessment, their expertise, and inform data integrity. It also helps with consistency in monitoring when the same person assesses the same transect. The notes section allows for the person monitoring to make other observations that may be of importance. This can help to make general assumptions of any additional changes that may be occurring such as rodents, invasive species, or erosion issues not picked up on transect.

Production Information

1. Biomass Availability  (also called standing crop) is the amount of vegetation, expressed as a weight per area, present during a given point in time. This is the average weight of forage that was clipped and collected along the transect. It can be used as a grazing intensity guide, inform whether stocking rate is appropriate, or be an indicator of possible distribution issues. At the end of the growing season, it can also be used in conjunction with annual production to calculate percent utilization. Utilization can be used as a guide for targeted grazing intensities and make adjustments to grazing duration. In arid to semi-arid regions of the Southwest, a conservative use is recommended to maintain forage conditions (Table 1).

   Table 2. Grazing intensity categories

   Grazing Intensity Category	Percent Forage Use	Grazing Intensity Description
   Light to nonuse	0-30	Only choice plants and areas show use. No use of poor quality forage plants
   Conservative	31-40	Choice plants have abundant seed stalks. Areas >1 mile from water show little use. One third to a half of primary forage show grazing in key areas.
   Moderate	41-50	Majority of area shows use. Key areas appear patchy with half to two thirds show grazing. Area between 1-1.5 miles from water show some use.
   Heavy	51-60	All choice plants show grazing. Shrubs show hedging. Key areas lack seed stalks. Grazing noticeable at >1.5 miles from water.
   Severe	Over 61	Key areas show a mowed appearance. Shrubs severely hedged. Livestock trails to and from available forage. Areas >1.5 miles from water appear mowed.
   Source: Holechek and Galt (2000)

2. Pasture Size is used to calculate stocking rates. It is important to make adjustments to the pasture size depending on slope and distance from water for livestock (Tables 2 & 3). This is called grazable acres and will more accurately estimate stocking rate. As distance from water or slope increases, grazable acres decreases. Only use the greatest reduction rather than a combined reduction. An example equation to calculate reductions is:
   
   SLOPE: (% area 0-10% × 1)+( % area 11-30% × 0.6)+( % area 31-60% × 0.3)+( % area >60% × 0)] × Total Pasture Size
   
   WATER: (% area <1 mile × 1)+(% area 1-2 miles × 0.5)+(% area 2+ miles × 0) × Total Pasture Size

   Table 2. Grazing reduction with slope for cattle

   Percent Slope	Percent Reduction in Grazing Capacity
   0-10	None
   11-30	30
   31-60	60
   Over 61	100 (considered ungrazable)
   Source: Holechek (1988)

   Table 3. Cattle grazing reduction with distance from water

   Miles	Percent Reduction in Grazing Capacity
   0-1	None
   1-2	50
   Over 2	100 (considered ungrazable)
   Source: Holechek (1988)

3. Estimated Stocking Rate is the approximate amount of animals that the land can support for a given amount of time to sustain forage conditions. The calculation is only an estimate of what the land will likely sustain and may require adjustments based on professional expertise. The report uses the calculation of 40% forage use, animal forage demand of 26 pounds per day, for a duration of one year (animal unit year; AUY), as follows:
   
   STOCKING RATE (AUY): (annual forage production × pasture size x allocated use) / (daily animal forage demand x 365 days)
4. Annual Forage Production is plant material collected from grazing exclusion cages, expressed as a weight per area, and used to assess forage production for an entire year. This an estimate of what the land can produce without grazing.
5. Cover

   

   1. Percent Cover is the proportion of the ground surface that is covered by vegetation, litter, rocks, bare soil, or other attributes and a long-term indicator of rangeland conditions. It is used to assess distribution and composition of different material covering the ground. Percent cover provides valuable information about vegetation density, potential erosion, and likelihood of plant matter being incorporated into the soil. When assessed over several year, these attribute trends allow land managers to make decisions regarding rangeland conditions or the need to improve an area. For example, when the bare ground percentage exceeds 50 percent, erosion potential increases. Management should focus on increasing or sustaining vegetation and litter percentages to prevent deleterious soil conditions.
   2. Vegetation Cover – Grasses is the percentage of grasses (grazing forage) by common name and scientific abbreviation (symbol) based on the percentage of vegetation cover readings along the transect. This percentage gives the land manager know species composition, biodiversity, and available forage. Furthermore, changes in composition can be used as an indicator of grazing impact and vegetation trends over time.
   3. Other Vegetation Cover is the percentage of vegetation that are not grasses based on vegetation cover readings along the transect. Similar to vegetation cover – grasses the percentage also can be used to assess range conditions and be used for land management decisions.
6. Forage Composition is the percentage of grass species found along the transect no matter if a vegetation reading was observed. This measures diversity and variety rather than relative abundance (vegetation cover) of grasses. It provides an inventory of grasses and their respective abundance or frequency within the area. It identifies the specific combination and distribution of different species and helps assess the overall forage biodiversity within the plant community. Species are listed by their common name, scientific abbreviation (symbol), percent, with the addition of height and the species minimum height grazing guideline.
7. Fecal Counts are used to estimate and monitor relative presence or absence of animals. It is not used to assess animal abundance but can be used generally as an indicator of increases or decreases in animal visitations.

   

8. Photos are used as a qualitative assessment to support quantitative assessments. They can be used as an illustrative record of the conditions that occurred at a given point in time. Ground photos when accompanied with a scaled ruler can be used to quantify cover or species composition, but are limited unless multiple ground photos are taken. Landscape photos can be used to demonstrate grazing intensity and correlated to the quantitative data.