abstract: A mule deer herd exists on the northern rim of the Grand Canyon, located on the North Kaibab Plateau. Historical references to this indigenous mule deer herd presented reports of periodic population irruption and collapse. Partially funded by the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the Arizona Deer Association, examination of herd nutritional and metabolic status from the Fall 2005 - Spring 2008 was completed at the request of AzGFD and ADA. Habitat analysis included forage micro-histological, protein, and caloric content plus whole blood and plasma assays gauging herd metabolic response. Modelling was completed using best management practices wildlife energy demand calculations and principal component analysis. Forage quality analysis and modelling suggest a sufficient amount of nitrogen (N) available (DPI) to the deer for protein synthesis. Energy analysis (MEI) of forage suggest caloric deficiencies are widely prevalent on the north Kaibab plateau. Principal component analysis integrates forage and metabolic results providing a linear regression model describing the dynamics of forage utilization, energy availability, and forage nitrogen supply with metabolic demand and response of the mule deer herd. Most of the plasma and blood metabolic indicators suggest baseline values for the North Kaibab mule deer. Albumin values are in agreement with albumin values for mule deer in the Southwest. I suggest that the agreed values become a standard for mule deer in the Southwestern U.S. As excess dietary N is converted to a caloric resource, a continual state of under-nutrition exists for the deer upon entering the N. Kaibab winter range. The population is exceeding the nutritional resource plane that the winter habitat provides. Management recommendations include implementation of multiple small-scale habitat rehabilitation efforts over time, including invasive juniper (Juniperous osteosperma) and piñon (Pinus edulis) management, prescribed burning to control big sage (Artemesia tridentata) populations, and reseeding treated areas with a seed mix of native shrubs, grasses and forbs. I recommended that the population size of the North Kaibab deer herd is maintained at the current size with natural selection controlling growth, or the population be artificially reduced through increased hunting opportunities. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Environmental Design and Planning 2014

Les prairies permanentes sont reconnues pour les nombreux services agronomiques et environnementaux qu’elles fournissent. Cependant, elles sont aujourd’hui encore retournées ou menacées de l’être au profit de productions plus rentables, ou abandonnées dans le cas des prairies humides où les conditions d’exploitation sont soumises à de nombreuses contraintes. Concilier objectifs de production et environnementaux afin de maintenir une activité agricole extensive au sein des prairies temporaires s’avère alors indispensable. Dans ce contexte, des études multi-services ont été réalisées au sein des prairies humides du Parc Naturel Régional (PNR) des marais du Cotentin et du Bessin (Normandie) ainsi que dans des prairies mésophilesaux conditions pédoclimatiques contrastées situées en Normandie, en Lorraine et en Auvergne. L’étude s’est focalisée sur 3 catégories de services écosystémiques (SE) telles que définis par le Millenium Ecosystem Assessment: la diversité floristique et fonctionnelle comme services de support, la qualité et la production du fourrage comme services d’approvisionnement et les stocks de carbone organique et les teneurs en carbone soluble du sol comme services de régulation. Afin de mettre en évidence la part du fonctionnement des communautés végétales dans le déterminisme des SE, la mesure de traits fonctionnels foliaires a été réalisée à l’échelle de l’espèce et/ou de la communauté végétale. Une partie de ces travaux se focalise sur les relations entre le fonctionnement des communautés végétales et la qualité du fourrage ainsi que l’impact des conditions hydriques du solsur les teneurs en micronutriments des espèces dans les prairies humides.Les résultats ont mis en évidence, qu’en fonction du groupe fonctionnel considéré, le SLA ou le LDMC étaient de bons proxies de la digestibilité des fourrages des prairieshumides. Les dicotylédones ont des teneurs en micronutriments plus élevées que les monocotylédones. Nos résultats montrent que l’inondation influence plus la composition élémentaire des espèces intolérantes aux inondations que les espèces adaptées et qu’elle n’a pas incidence sur la production de biomasse. De manière générale, le fonctionnement des communautés végétales n’explique pas à lui seul les relations entre les SE. La qualité du fourrage est liée au fonctionnement des communautés végétales ainsi qu’à la diversité floristique et fonctionnelle mais seulement en prairies humides. En prairies mésophiles, l’historique de la gestion ou la structure du paysage pourrait être déterminants. Par ailleurs, nos résultats montrent que les stocks de C organique dans le sol des prairies mésophiles et humides sont étroitement liés à sa nature.Les indicateurs des SE combinent les prairies humides en 4 groupes distincts en selon la nature du sol et la gestion (fauche ou pâturage). Globalement, les bouquets de services rendus par les prairies humides sont mieux équilibrés que ceux rendus par les prairies mésophiles, ces derniers ne se distinguant pas les uns des autres selon la localisation géographique des prairies mésophiles. Les prairies gérées de manière extensive fournissent de meilleurs services environnementaux que des prairies gérées de manière intensive et une qualité fourragère équivalente. / Permanent grasslands are recognized for the many agronomic and environmental services they provide. However, they are still plowed or threatened to be in favor of more productive cultures, or abandoned in the case of wet grasslands, where the conditions of exploitation are subjected to many constraints. Reconciling production and environmental objectives in order to maintain extensive agricultural activities is therefore essential in permanent grasslands. In this context, multi-service studies have been carried out in the wet grasslands of the Regional Natural Park (PNR) of the Cotentin and Bessin marshes (Normandy, France) as well as in a set of mesophilous grasslandsofcontrasting pedoclimatic conditions located in Normandy, Lorraine and Auvergne. The study focused on 3 categories of Ecosystem Services (ES) as defined by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: floristic and functional diversity as support services, quality and forage production as supply services and stocks of organic carbon and soluble carbon soil contents as regulatory services. In order to analyzethe role of plant community functioning in the ES determinism, the measurement of leaf functional traits was carried out at the species and/or the plant community scales. Part of this work focuses particularly on the relationships between plant communities functioning and forage quality, and soil moisture conditions impact on micronutrient contents of species in wet grasslands. The results showed that, depending on the functional group, SLA or LDMC were good proxies for the digestibility of wet grassland forages. Dicots have higher micronutrient contents than Monocots. Our results show that flooding influences the elemental composition of flood-intolerant species more than adapted species and does not affect biomass production. In general, the plant community functioning does not explain all the relationship between ESs. Forage quality is linked to the plant community functioning as well as thefloristic and functional diversity but only forwet grasslands. In mesophilic grasslands, the history of management or the landscape structure could be important drivers. In addition, our results show that organic C stocks in the soil of wet and mesophilic grasslands are closely related to soil nature. ESs indicators have brought together 4 distinct groups of wet grasslands according to soil nature and management practices (mowing or grazing). Overall, the ESs packages offered by wet grasslands are better balanced than those provided by mesophilic grasslands, the latter being indistinguishable from another according to the geographical location. Extensively managed grasslands provide better environmental services than intensively managed grasslands and equivalent forage quality.

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This thesis at first discusses the importance of permanent grasslands, establishing and revival of pastures, further dividing agrobotanical groups, homogeneity of pastures and the treatment and fertilization of grasslands. The second part focuses on the breeding of cattle, commercial properties and targets in breeding herds. It deals with the Aberdeen angus beef, that is kept at monitored sites. In addition, the organization and the division of pastures. The third part contains observational monitoring of grassland. The effects of different grazing systems on pasture vegetation were observed at the selected pastures areas. Forage crop characteristics were measured and the suitable grazing system was designed and system of usage and treatment of pasture vegetation was designed. The observation was greatly complicated because of the excessive rainfall (floods) in the first third of the grazing season.