Soil Movement and Surface Roughness on Wyoming Rangelands

by Herbert G. Fisser, Univ of Wyoming, Dep of Range, Management, Laramie, WY, USA,
Barbara Rose, Univ of Wyoming, Dep of Range, Management, Laramie, WY, USA,
Clifford Johnson, Univ of Wyoming, Dep of Range, Management, Laramie, WY, USA,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Watershed Management in the Eighties

Abstract:

Soil movement and surface roughness parameters were evaluated as a function of response to livestock grazing and semiarid shrub control treatments. Repeated elevation measurements of erosion transects referenced to permanent metal rods provided spatial and temporal data. Statistical analyses included 't' and 'F' tests and multivariate analysis of variance. Influences of the grazing and shrub control treatments and interrelations with climate, soils, topography, and ground cover were investigated. Quantitative analysis was utilized to identify minimal grazing and shrub control effects responsible for significant soil movement and surface roughness differences among and within sites and sampling periods. Management implications regarding livestock grazing and shrub control are discussed. The results are readily applicable to semiarid ecosystems of sagebrush-grass and saltbush rangelands of the intermountain west.

Subject Headings: Soil treatment | Hydraulic roughness | Rangeland | Livestock | Arid lands | Vegetation | Spatial data | Wyoming | United States

Services: Buy this book/Buy this article

 

Return to search