Background Information on Plants
Review this presentation and notes if the following terms are note familiar and clear: Grasses, Grass-like, Forbs, Shrubs, Herbaceous, Browse, Mast, Annuals, Biennials, Perennials, Native plants, Introduced plants, Naturalized plants, Suffrutescent, Cool Season plants, and Warm Season plants.
♦ Presentation– Plant Basics
__» Background Notes on Plant Basics (PDF)
♦ Background Video– Grass Growth Stages & Grazing Impacts (University of Wyoming)
Plant Response to Disturbance
♦ Plant Morphology affecting Response to Disturbance
» Video | PowerPoint | Note Guide
♦ Plant Physiology affecting Response to Disturbance –
» Video | PowerPoint | Note Guide
♦ Plant Response to Grazing
» Video | PowerPoint |Note Guide
♦ Plant Response to Fire
» Video | PowerPoint | Note Guide
~~~~Readings
→ Background Reading– Understanding Grass Growth (Waller et al. 1985)
→ Supplemental Website on Basic Grass Growth (Oregon State University)
→ Required Reading – Range Readiness (Fraser 2003)
→ Required Reading – Carbohydrate Reserves: What you learned may be wrong. (Burritt & Reid 2012)
→ Required Reading – Factors Influencing Grazing Tolerance
→ Required Reading – What grows back after fire? (Smith & Davison 1996)
~~~~ Interesting Case about Grazing in Ecosystems: Point – Counterpoint
→ How to fight desertification and reverse climate change. (TED Talk by Allan Savory)
→ The Savory Method Can Not Green Deserts or Reverse Climate Change (Counterpoint Paper)
Plant Nutritive Value & Toxicity
♦ Plant Nutritive Value
» Video| PowerPoint | Note Guide
♦ Toxic Rangeland Plants
» Video| PowerPoint | Note Guide
~~~~Readings
→ Required Reading – Why Range Forage Quality Changes. (Lyons et al. 1999)
→ Required Video – “The Challenge” (Utah State Univ. Extension)
→ Required Reading – Why Animals Die from Eating Poisonous Plants? (Burritt 2012)
Range Animal Digestion & Nutrition
♦ Animal Foraging Characteristics
» Video | PowerPoint | Note Guide
♦ Herbivore Classification
» Video| PowerPoint | Note Guide
♦ Basic Principles of Rangeland Animal Nutrition
» Video| PowerPoint | Note Guide
~~~~ Readings
→ Required Reading – Grazing Behavior of Livestock and Wildlife. (Shipley 1999)
→ Required Reading – What Range Herbivores Eat–and Why (Lyons et al. 1999)
Meeting Demand & Forage Intake
♦ Animal Demand
» Video | PowerPoint | Note Guide
♦ Matching Supply & Demand
» Video | PowerPoint | Note Guide
~~~~ Readings
→ Required Reading – Nutritional Value of Range Forage for Livestock (Ruyle 1993)
→ Required Reading – Matching the Cattle Production Cycle to Forage Availability on the High Plains (Steffens et al. 2015)
