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Summary
(Adapted from Abstract presented at ARS Carbon Storage Workshop,
Baltimore, MD, Jan 1999)


Problem: Rangeland health and sustainable productivity of our
rangelands are becoming a key issues in developing management
strategies that ensure the long-term sustainbility of this natural
resource. Land managers and the producers are asking the question -
... How does grazing affect the rangelands productivity and sustaibility
(i.e. rangeland health)? Therefore, it is important to more fully
understand the effects ofgrazing on the carbon and nitrogen balance
and cycling of these key nutrients and their importance in ensuring
sustainable productivity .


Approach: Studies were initiated in 1993 on a northern mixed-grass
prairie site at the High Plains Grasslands Research Station near
Cheyenne, WY that had been grazed for 11 years under various strategies
to assess the effects of management on livestock performance and forage
production. Soil samples were taken to a depth of 60 cm along
permanent transects established in 1982 when the grazing study was
initiated. These soil cores were taken to assess soil organic carbon
and organic nitrogen and root biomass and root C and N. Aboveground
plant components (litter, standing dead, and live biomass) were also
sampled along these transects and Cand N mass determined on the
various components. Samples were obtained from non-grazed exclosures
(EX), continuous light (CL), continuous heavy (CH), rotationally
deferred heavy(RH), and short duration heavy (SH) stocking rate
treatment pastures. No differences were evident among the heavy grazed
treatments irrespective ofgrazing strategy; therefore, we limited our
detailed evaluation to the EX, CL, and CH treatments, on which C and N
balances ofthe soil-plant system were calculated.

Findings: We found that soil organic C and organic N masses were
higher in the surface 30 cm of the soil of the grazed treatments
compared to the non-grazed exclosures. Total ecosystem C and N for the
0-30 cm depth (includes aboveground and all belowground C to depth
of30 cm) was significantly greater on the grazed compared to the
ungrazed treatments. However, no significant differences existed when
total ecosystem C and N was assessed to the 60 cm depth, even though
the mass of C and N was greater for the grazed treatments (except for N
on CH). The observed increases in soil C and N in the 0-30 cm soil
zone has important implications in determining management strategies
for these grasslands. Removing livestock from these lands could over
the long-term reduce soil C and N cycling and potentially the
productivity of the systems. These ecosystems developed under grazing;
the fact that soil resources are enhanced with grazing suggests that
grazing is an important part ofensuring long-tenn sustainability of
these grasslands systems.

Future Plans: These studies have led to the assessment of the C and N
balance on the shortgrass steppe in northeastern Colorado and we are
in the preliminary planning stages of some cooperative projects assessing
long-term grazing effects of other ecosystems in North Dakota and to
assess change over time on some recently initiated grazing studies in
Montana.

Geographic Coverage Spatial coordinates   

N: 42.0

S: 40.0

E: -104.0

W: -105.0

Data Set Citation

Dataset Creator: G.E. Schuman, J.D. Reeder, J.A. Morgan, R.H. Hart Dataset Title: Carbon and nitrogen balance of a northern mixied-grass prairie as influenced by Dataset Release Date: 1999 Dataset Release Place: Cheyenne, Wyoming Dataset Publisher: Rangeland Resources Research Unit, USDA-ARS

Temporal Coverage

Start Date: 1993-01-01 Stop Date: 1993-12-31

Location Keywords

CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > WYOMING

Science Keywords

AGRICULTURE > ANIMAL SCIENCE > ANIMAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS > GRAZING SYSTEMS AGRICULTURE > SOILS > ORGANIC MATTER AGRICULTURE > SOILS > SOIL CHEMISTRY AGRICULTURE > SOILS > SOIL RESPIRATION BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS > BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS > BIOMASS DYNAMICS BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > ECOSYSTEM FUNCTIONS > DECOMPOSITION BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > COMMUNITY DYNAMICS > GRAZING DYNAMICS / PLANT ECOLOGY BIOSPHERE > VEGETATION > BIOMASS > ABOVEGROUND BIOSPHERE > VEGETATION > BIOMASS > BELOWGROUND BIOSPHERE > VEGETATION > LITTER CHARACTERISTICS

ISO Topic Category

FARMING ECONOMY GEOSCIENTIFIC INFORMATION BIOTA

Platform

GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS

Quality
have been peer reviewed

Access Constraints
none

Use Constraints
none

Ancillary Keywords

CARBON LOSS CARBON SEQUESTRATION CARBON SINK CARBON STORAGE CONTINUOUS HEAVY GRAZING CONTINUOUS LIGHT GRAZING DEFERRED GRAZING NORTHERN MIXED-GRASS PRAIRIE ORGANIC NITROGEN SHORT DURATION GRAZING SOIL ORGANIC CARBON CONSERVATION

Data Set Progress

COMPLETE

Originating Center

USDA/ARS

Data Center

Rangeland Resources Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture Data Center URL: http://www.rrru.ars.usda.gov/ Data Center Personnel Name: GERALD E. SCHUMAN Phone: (307) 772-2433 Fax: (307) 637-6124 Email: gschuman at lamar.colostate.edu Contact Address: High Plains Grasslands Research Station USDA Agricultural Research Service 8408 Hildreth Road City: Cheyenne Province or State: WY Postal Code: 82009 Country: USA

Personnel

RICHARD H. HART Role: INVESTIGATOR Phone: (307) 772-2433 Fax: (307) 637-6124 Email: rhart at lamar.colostate.edu Contact Address: USDA Agricultural Research Service High Plains Grasslands Research Station 8408 Hildreth Road City: Cheyenne Province or State: WY Postal Code: 82009 Country: USA JACK A. MORGAN Role: INVESTIGATOR Phone: (970) 498-8216 Fax: (970) 482-2909 Email: morgan at lamar.colostate.edu Contact Address: USDA-ARS Rangeland Resources Research Unit CROPS RESEARCH LAB 1701 Center Ave City: Fort Collins Province or State: CO Postal Code: 80526 Country: USA J. D. REEDER Role: INVESTIGATOR Phone: (970) 498-4236 Fax: (970) 482-2909 Email: jdreeder at lamar.colostate.edu Contact Address: USDA-ARS Rangeland Resources Research Unit CROPS RESEARCH LAB 1701 Center Ave City: Fort Collins Province or State: CO Postal Code: 80526-2083 Country: USA GERALD E. SCHUMAN Role: INVESTIGATOR Role: TECHNICAL CONTACT Phone: (307) 772-2433 Fax: (307) 637-6124 Email: gschuman at lamar.colostate.edu Contact Address: High Plains Grasslands Research Station USDA Agricultural Research Service 8408 Hildreth Road City: Cheyenne Province or State: WY Postal Code: 82009 Country: USA TYLER B. STEVENS Role: DIF AUTHOR Phone: (301) 614-6898 Fax: 301-614-5268 Email: Tyler.B.Stevens at nasa.gov Contact Address: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Global Change Master Directory City: Greenbelt Province or State: MD Postal Code: 20771 Country: USA

Publications/References
I. T. Manley, G.E. Schuman, I.D. Reeder, and
R.H. Hart. 1995. Rangeland soil carbon and nitrogen responses to
grazing. I. Soil and Water Conservation. 50{3): 294-298. .

G.E. Schuman, I.D. Reeder, I.T. Manley, R.H. Hart, and
W.A. Manley. 1999. Impact of grazing management on the carbon and
nitrogen balance ofa mixed-grass rangeland. Ecol. Applications. ... 9(1):
(In press).

Schuman, G.E., D.R. LeCain, I.D. Reeder, and
I.A. Morgan. 1998. Carbon dynamicsand sequestration ofa mixed-grass
prairie as influenced by grazing. Agron. Abst. p.259.


Schuman, G.E., I.D. Reeder, R.H. Hart, and J.A. Morgan. 1997. Impact
oflivestock grazing on the carbon and nitrogen balance ofa mixed-grass
prairie. Agron. Abst. p. 206.


Schuman, G.E., I. T. Manley, J.D. Reeder, and
R.H. Hart. 1995. Grazing rangelands enhances soil quality. Soc. Range
Manage. Abst. Vol. 48:56.

Creation and Review Dates

Last DIF Revision Date: 2000-09-14

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