Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Online
    • Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • Info For
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • About
    • About JSWC
    • Editorial Board
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • RSS Feeds
    • Contact Us

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Online
    • Archive
    • Subject Collections
  • Info For
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Subscribers
    • Advertisers
  • About
    • About JSWC
    • Editorial Board
    • Permissions
    • Alerts
    • RSS Feeds
    • Contact Us
  • Follow SWCS on Twitter
  • Visit SWCS on Facebook
Research ArticleResearch

Sustainable production from the rough fescue prairie

Johan F. Dormaar and Walter D. Willms
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation January 1990, 45 (1) 137-140;
Johan F. Dormaar
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Walter D. Willms
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

ABSTRACT:

Native prairie communities have evolved to produce relatively low but sustained production. Demand for greater production has resulted in overgrazing and, consequently, lower and more unstable annual yields and increased risk of soil erosion. Because the Rough Fescue Prairie is best suited for grazing, studies were made to determine its carrying capacity and assess the effects of overgrazing. Overgrazing resulted in an increase in plant species that were shallow-rooted and less productive, but more resistant to grazing. This was associated with higher soil temperatures and reduced infiltration. Consequently, the soil was transformed to one characteristic of a drier microclimate. Soil color changed from black to dark brown as stocking rate increased from light to very heavy. Grazing caused a redistribution of nitrogen in the soil by concentrating a greater proportion in a shallower Ah horizon. Productivity deteriorated rapidly with overgrazing, but more than 20 years of drastically reduced stocking rates are required to enable recovery.

Footnotes

  • Johan F. Dormaar is a soil scientist and Walter D. Willms is a range ecologist at the Agriculture Canada Research Station, Lethbridge, Alberta TIJ 4BI. This article is LRS contribution no. 3878947.

  • Copyright 1990 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society

This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation: 45 (1)
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
Vol. 45, Issue 1
January/February 1990
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Sustainable production from the rough fescue prairie
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
11 + 2 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Citation Tools
Sustainable production from the rough fescue prairie
Johan F. Dormaar, Walter D. Willms
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Jan 1990, 45 (1) 137-140;

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Request Permissions
Share
Sustainable production from the rough fescue prairie
Johan F. Dormaar, Walter D. Willms
Journal of Soil and Water Conservation Jan 1990, 45 (1) 137-140;
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Restoring Industrial Disturbances with Native Hay in Mixedgrass Prairie in Alberta
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Understanding soil health and associated farmers' perceptions in Colombian coffee systems
  • Assessing manure and inorganic nitrogen fertilization impacts on soil health, crop productivity, and crop quality in a continuous maize agroecosystem
  • Effect of sludge amino acid–modified magnetic coal gasification slag on plant growth, metal availability, and soil enzyme activity
Show more Research

Similar Articles

Content

  • Current Issue
  • Early Online
  • Archive
  • Subject Collections

Info For

  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • Subscribers
  • Advertisers

Customer Service

  • Subscriptions
  • Permissions and Reprints
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy

SWCS

  • Membership
  • Publications
  • Meetings and Events
  • Conservation Career Center

© 2023 Soil and Water Conservation Society