Preliminary Effects of Patch-Burn Grazing on a High-Diversity Prairie Restoration

The effects of patch-burn grazing in restored prairie along the Central Platte River, NE, were studied. The land management system entailed annually burning part of a grassland and then giving cattle access to both the unburned and burned portions of the pasture. On a site with a low stocking rate, cattle grazed very few prairie clover plants in either the burned or unburned portions. On a site where the stocking rate was much higher, there was a high percentage of prairie clover plants grazed within the burned portion of the site. Under some conditions cattle select grasses rather than forbs, and their selectivity can be managed by adjusting stocking rates.