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Wetland Meadow Forage Management
R. L. Dovel and J. Rainey'
INTRODUCTION
Wetland meadows cover over 95,000 acres in Klamath County and provide
summer grazing for over 100,000 cattle each year. The major native species
encountered in such sites include tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia caespitosa),
Kentucky blue grass (Poa pratensis), Meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis),
Nebraska sedge (Carex nebraskensis), Carex nigricans, and Liebur bluegrass
(Poa lieburgii). Many of these species are found throughout Oregon and the
entire Northern United States in wetland meadows; however, little information on the productivity, quality, or management of most of these species is
available.
Virtually all beef ranchers grazing wetland meadows in Southern Oregon
practice set stock grazing. The species composition of many wetland meadows
has been altered due to heavy continuous grazing. Less palatable species,
such as various rushes and sedges, meadow barley, mat muhly, and foxtail
barley, have increased under heavy grazing pressure. This shift in species
composition can adversely affect both forage production and forage quality.
Forage produced in a sedge-dominated wetland meadow had N levels of 2.1 percent on May 19; yet, by mid-June forage N content had dropped to 1.4
percent, which is below the nutrient requirements for steers and lactating
cows. By September forage N content from the same pasture dropped to 1.1
percent which is only marginally adequate for dry cows.
Animal performance on these meadows is also hampered by extreme variability in forage production with season and declining forage quality with
age. Dry-matter production on these meadows reaches a peak in early July.
Production, then declines rapidly through August and September. If meadows
are stocked at rates high enough to efficiently harvest the vigorous early
season growth and not allow rank dead vegetation to accumulate, then slow
late-season forage production results in overgrazing and poor animal
performance. Animal production and the condition of desirable native meadow
species both suffer under such a system. Improved grazing management to
prevent the' accumulation of low-quality forage and to maintain desirable
species in the sward could greatly increase the productivity of these
.wetland meadow's and provide a more ecologically sound management alterna
1/ Assistant Professor and Experimental Biology Technician, respectively,
Klamath Experiment Station.
Acknowledgements: Land and irrigation management were provided by the
Rock Creek Ranch.
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Intensive grazing management has improved overall
productivity,
efficiency, and profitability in New Zealand. The use of intensive grazing
management has also allowed the maintenance of high-quality, highly palatable species in the sward, even with heavy utilization. One requirement for
intensive grazing management is a knowledge of forage growth rates. Knowledge of growth rates in the spring and the time of onset of growth for
different forage species is critical in strategic planning to reduce hay
feeding.
Regrowth following clipping or grazing is dependent on various environmental and management parameters. The amount of forage left after grazing
or clipping greatly affects regrowth. Residual dry matter (RDM) is not
easily measured by the producer; however, height is closely related to RDM
and is easily measured by cattlemen and ranchers.
A clipping study was initiated to determine the productivity and
quality of the major forage species in two wetland meadow plant associations.
PROCEDURES
Three cutting
Plots were established within a livestock exclosure. heights (2, 4, and 6 inch) were imposed on the appropriate plots. The RDM
left by each cutting height was determined by clipping a 1-111 quadrate to
Plots were harvested and forage weighed monthly throughout
ground level.
the growing season.
Forage quality was assessed by determining N content
and acid detergent fiber (ADF) content of the forage.
The relative forage production and quality of continuously grazed
versus simulated rotationally grazed swards (clipped) was evaluated using
exclusion cages. Accumulated forage mass was detqrmined prior to protecting
a section of continuously grazed sward with a 1-mc cage. After one week the
cage was removed and the forage mass determined. This allowed an estimate
of the pasture growth rate for that week. The cage was then moved to a
previously unprotected site and the process repeated.
RESULTS
The exclusion structure was erected after cattle were turned onto the
pasture in 1988. The initial harvest (July 11) reflects the spring growth
of the various plant associations and the grazing preference of the animals
on the pasture. The animals preferred the bluegrass/clover association as
shown by the low initial yields (Table 2). This was less true of the
grass/sedge association which yielded significantly higher than the
bluegrass/clover association at the July 11 harvest. The sedge association
was not grazed as intensively as the other two associations and had a much
higher yield on the July 11 harvest than the grass-dominated associations.
Due to exclusion of grazing, the yields of the two grass associations
were higher on the August 17 harvest than the initial harvest (Table 2). In
contrast, the sedge association yielded less on August 17 than July 11.
Cool fall temperatures resulted in low yields by the September 15 harvest.
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Total forage harvested was significantly affected by cutting height.
The 2-inch cutting height resulted in the highest total forage production
and the highest amount of utilized or harvested forage in all three plant
associations. In the bluegrass/clover and grass/sedge associations only the
2-inch cutting height resulted in a higher amount of utilized forage than
set stocking. Both the 2- and 4-inch cutting heights resulted in a higher
amount of utilized forage than set stocking in the sedge association.
Both grass associations had similar digestibilities, averaging 33.4 and
34.3 percent ADF across the season for the bluegrass/clover and grass/sedge
associations, respectively. The sedge association had significantly higher
ADF values than the grass associations, averaging 37 percent ADF across the
season. Cutting height did not significantly affect forage digestibility of
any plant association as estimated by percent ADF; however, the upper
portions of the sward were more digestible than the lower portions.
Simulated controlled grazing (cutting) resulted in lower ADF values
than continuous grazing throughout the season for all plant associations
with the exception of the Bluegrass/clover association at the initial
cutting. All subsequent regrowth in cut plots was of higher quality (lower
percent ADF) than continuously grazed pasture. This is probably due to the
removal of older less-digestible material by the uniform removal of the
forage to a specific level. In contrast, selective grazing generally
results in the removal of the more digestible portions of the sward and the
accumulation of older, less-digestible forage.
CONCLUSIONS
Data from the first year of this experiment is encouraging but not
conclusive. There appears to be adequate forage quality in the sedge
association to meet the protein and energy requirements of some classes of
beef cattle. Also, yield and quality responses to management indicate that
improvements in both yield and quality in this forage resource are possible
through grazing management.
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Table 1. Total forage produced, total forage utilized, and percent
utilization of three wetland meadow plant associations under
continuous grazing or three different cutting heights.
Ht.
Association
Utilization
inch
Total
lbs/A
Production
Utilized
lbs/A
Bluegrass
2
4
6
grazed
5,073
3,430
2,451
2,351
3,159
1,187
204
1,625
62.3
34.6
8.3
53.7
Mixed
2
4
6
grazed
12,654
8,274
6,572
6,651
10,170
4,666
2,428
4,036
81.2
56.4
36.9
62.8
12,956
9,054
5,943
11,230
12,050
7,457
3,731
3,743
93.0
82.4
62.8
33.0
Sedge
2
4
6
grazed
Table 2. Effect of season, cutting height, and plant association
on forage yield of wetland meadows in Klamath County.
Cutting Date
Cutting Ht.
Bluegrass
Association
Mixed
Association
lbs/A Sedge
Association
329
4
4
2497
830
147
333
353
53
2366
446
45
6681
3682
2037
1226
538
346
7615
4077
1552
3443
2586
1774
992
794
406
inches
7-11-88
8-17-88
9-15-88
2
4
6
2
4
6
2
4
6