Evaluating Outcomes of Grazing Management on Wyoming Ranches · – Goals, grazing management decision-making, drought • Rangeland sampling at two locations on 20 ranches using

Evaluating Outcomes of Grazing Management on Wyoming Ranches:

An Ecological Site-Based Approach

Emily Kachergis Justin Derner

USDA-ARS, Cheyenne, WY

Road Map

1. Project overview: Rangeland Decision-Making Project

2. How are ESD’s informing the research project?

3. How is the research project informing ESD’s?

4. Next steps

1. Project Overview: Rangeland Decision-Making Project

Grazing management debate points to need to understand decision-making

Increasing demand for multiple benefits from rangelands

Research Question

• What are the outcomes of grazing management decisions on Wyoming ranches? – Forage production

– Ecosystem services

DROUGHT

How does drought affect outcomes of grazing management decisions on Wyoming ranches?

– Forage production

– Ecosystem services

Study Area

MLRA 67A – Central High Plains, Northern Part Northern Mixed Grass Prairie Laramie, Platte, and Goshen Counties Very productive area for livestock in Wyoming

Methods: A Multi-Pronged Approach

• Interviews with 20 ranchers and 9 natural resource professionals in SE WY – Goals, grazing management decision-making, drought

• Rangeland sampling at two locations on 20 ranches using National Resource Inventory methods – Most productive and less productive sites

• Rangeland sampling in a twice-replicated, long-term (25 yr) grazing experiment at the High Plains Grasslands Research Station using NRI methods

Why take a collaborative approach?

• Gain insight from people with diverse experiences with rangeland management

• Build social, political, and intellectual capital

• Increase quality of resulting products because they integrate multiple types of knowledge

National Resource Inventory Methods

• Plant Cover: Line-Point Intercept

• Plant Production: Dry Weight Rank, Comparative Yield

• Plant Diversity: Plot Search

• Soil Stability: Aggregate Stability Test Kit

• Plant Height: Robel Pole • Ecological Site

Verification: Soil augur

2. How did Ecological Sites inform our research project?

ESD’s make research findings more accurate and interpretable

Sandy Loamy

ESD’s Provided Background Information

Ecological Sites*: Loamy, Sandy, Clayey *Version 1.0

Ecological Sites Will Inform Data Analysis and Interpretation

Ecosystem Service Indicators by Ecological Site – Most Productive Plots

Loamy (7) Sandy (11)

Foliar Cover (%) 70 70

Standing Crop (lbs/ac) 846 1,150 Richness (# species) 26 22

Max Plant Height (in) 5 8

Soil Stability 3 3

Ecological Sites Will Inform Data Analysis and Interpretation

Ecosystem Service Indicators by Ecological Site – Least Productive Plots

Loamy (9) Sandy (9)

Foliar Cover (%) 68 71

Standing Crop (lbs/ac) 647 958 Richness (# species) 24 19

Max Plant Height (in) 4 6

Soil Stability 4 3

3. How can our research project inform ESD’s?

Inform the update effort (Version 2.0)

Test and Validate

Dynamics in STM’s

Add Detail to “Prescribed

Grazing” as a Transition

Trigger

Provide Ecosystem Service Indicators for Each State

Long-term Lightly Grazed Pasture

Long-term Heavily Grazed Pasture

Cool Season Grass Cover

61%

Warm Season Grass Cover

15%

Species Richness

25

Max. Plant Height (in)

7.8

Cool Season Grass Cover

14%

Warm Season Grass Cover

58%

Species Richness

21

Max. Plant Height (in)

3.3

Incorporate Local and Expert Knowledge from a Broad Range of People

“Of course if you graze it too many years in a row at the same time your plant species start to change, your needle and thread which is our major pounds producer other than the…three weeks sedge, we start getting blue grama or if it’s really abused you get cheat grass... “

plus local governments, conservation groups, and many others

4. Next Steps • Workshop with research participants in 2013

• Re-sample plots in 2013 to investigate effects of drought on grazing outcomes

• Share data summaries and products with NRCS ESD developers, to incorporate into ESD’s

• Parallel project in California rangelands

• Research + ESD’s = a win-win situation

• Seek out multiple types of knowledge from many sources

• Communicate with and involve a variety of knowledgeable people, including ESD developers

Conclusions

Program Leaders: Emily Kachergis, Justin Derner, Leslie Roche, Ken Tate, Valerie Eviner, Mark Lubell, Toby O’Geen, Bethany Cutts, Lorien Jasny, David Augustine, Maria Fernandez-Gimenez, Dave Briske.

WY/CO Project Collaborators: Crow Valley Livestock Cooperative, 8A Hay and Cattle Company, Rachel Mealor, Jim Magagna, Rick Peterson, Rachel Murph, Steve Anderson, Leonard Ball, Kim Obele, Seth Gallagher, Ted Toombs, Casey Matney, William Burnidge, Jason Kern, Dana Bowman, Pat Reece, Dave Pellatz, Thunder Basin Grasslands Prairie Ecosystem AssociationAnd many more!

Thanks to our Collaborators and Partners!

Questions?

Contact: Emily Kachergis 307-772-2433 x 105

[email protected]