Benefits and costs of implementing the specialized grazing systems on federal rangelands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) were studied. First only the direct benefits and costs were used to determine the internal rates of return on the Bureau of of Land Management investments in grazing systems. Secondly, the effects of theses systems on profits of private ranchers were determined. Finally the benefits and costs stream on the Bureau of Land Management and the changes in ranchers' profits were brought together to find out the net gain to society from investing the federal funds in specialized grazing systems. The internal rate of return on the Bureau of Land Management investments over an area of approximately 695,024 acres in Idaho, Nevada and Utah is 2.37 percent which is less than half the rate federal investments are expected to return (as measured by the federal government's cost of borrowing). More than half of the twenty four allotment plans have negative rates of return. Out of thirteen plans with negative rates of return only five had positive net returns and the rest have negative net returns. Specialized grazing systems have improved the aggregate profits of the private ranchers by $3.06 for each pound of livestock produced. Federal investment in specialized grazing systems may be justified if income distribution is considered a valid reason for such activities. If the stability and continuity of their operations is assured, ranchers may be able to pay increased grazing fees. In view of the fact that under public pressure the government has decided to withdraw rancher benefits in the form of grazing fees lower than market rates, income distribution appears to be poor grounds for justification of federal investment. Also, given the income benefits to ranch operations, ranchers themselves would undoubtedly want to invest in grazing systems on federal land. However, rancher investment is unlikely since the Bureau of Land Management is already discouraging private permanent improvements on public lands. From the point of view of the Bureau of Land Management as a proprietory agent, the real cost of obtaining an increase of a bundle of non-grazing benefits produced jointly with an animal unit month of increased forage production is $0.53. A grazing fee of $1.74 per animal unit month would be required for the Bureau of Land Management to break even on investments in grazing systems. This is in spirt of the fact that large federal investments in necessary range improvements already existed before the implementation of the specialized grazing systems. It appears the investments in grazing systems on unimproved ranges are not justifiable in terms of direct returns to the Bureau of Land Management. If the externality to the ranching segment of society is internalized, specialized grazing systems more than pay for themselves if future benefits are discounted at the public discount rate. Besides the positive change in public goods, society gains $3.42 for each additional animal unit month of grazing. Many questions are left unanswered such as quantifying and placing a dollar value on rangeland benefits claimed by the federal agencies.

Acropora cervicornis, commonly known as the staghorn coral has historically been a major contributor to reef structural complexity, providing habitat for many functionally important fish species throughout Florida and the Caribbean. Unfortunately, due to disease, bleaching, and local anthropogenic stressors, A. cervicornis populations have suffered drastic declines that have negatively impacted associated reef fish populations. In order to promote recovery, A. cervicornis fragments can be cultivated in nurseries and outplanted back onto reefs. This practice can effectively increase A. cervicornis abundance, but the long-term effects on local fish assemblages, and specifically functionally important grazing fishes, has not been assessed. Fish assemblages at natural (control) sites were compared to outplanted A. cervicornis sites in Southeast Florida. Fish surveys were conducted each summer at four locations from 2012 to 2017. Each location contained three outplanted A. cervicornis and one or two control sites. Outplant sites were defined by 50 A. cervicornis colonies in a 36 m2 area. Control sites occupied the same area but did not contain outplanted colonies. The fish assemblage structure was assessed in terms of composition, demography, and functional temporal trends as well as with the increasing structural complexity of the outplanted corals, defined as total linear extension (TLE). Significant temporal trends were recorded for total fish abundance, grazer abundance, and diversity. Structural complexity (outplanted A. cervicornis measured in TLE m-2) was found to be a significant predictor of total fish abundance, grazer abundance and diversity. Fishes 2-5 cm total length were most numerous indicating that the outplant sites may be providing habitat for juvenile reef fishes, particularly algae consumers. These findings suggest that A. cervicornis restoration may be creating a positive feedback loop in which outplanted corals create habitat for grazing fishes that in turn reduce algae competition, potentially providing new habitat for coral settlement.

Integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS) incorporate cropping systems and livestock production by grazing cover crops. With a growing awareness in recent years regarding agricultural sustainability, these systems have begun to be re-introduced into the southeastern U.S. This study evaluated cover cropping systems under grazed no-till (GNT), un-grazed no-till (UNT), and un-grazed conventional tillage (UCT) management, in Mississippi. Beef cattle (Bos spp.) performance was significantly less in the cover crop treatment of oats (Avena sativa) + crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum) + radish (Raphanus sativus; OCR) in both average daily gain (ADG; 3.03 lb hd-1 d-1) and total gain ac-1 (GAIN; 346 lb ac-1). Soybean (Glycine max) yield was unaffected by cover crop treatment and tillage. The lowest expected economic return was generated by OCR ($749.31 ac-1). Soil penetration resistance was unaffected by the influence of grazing. The greatest concentrations of soil organic carbon (1.44%) and soil nitrogen (0.20%) were observed in GNT.

With the advent of global position system (GPS) collar technology, we have developed a much greater understanding of the temporal and spatial distribution of livestock and their associated grazing patterns. While significant research using GPS collars has been reported for cattle, little research is available describing collar use in understanding the behavior of domestic sheep. The purpose of our research was to evaluate the energy requirements of sheep with the use of GPS collars. To accomplish this, we adapted a low-cost i-gotU GPS tracking device that is typically designed for cattle and modified it to fit sheep. Each collar was programmed to record sheep movements within four grazing habitat types during different times of the year. Habitat types included spring pasture (SP), spring low hill habitat (SH), summer mountain habitat (MH) and winter desert habitat (DH). We divided our research into two studies: 1) to track and compare energy expenditure of domestic sheep between four habitats using collars for recording sheep movements, and 2) to model summer mountain selection by sheep using the collar derived coordinate positions and environmental variables in an RSF model process. We hypothesized that there would more energy expended while out on desert habitat in comparison to other range habitats and sheep would select for sites on summer mountain habitat that were close to water, gentle in terrain, and higher in elevation. We used sheep energy equations to determine the energy requirement. Collar derived coordinates were used to measure the horizontal distance traveled on flat terrain or vertical distances both upslope and downhill across variable terrain. Our results found that total distance traveled was not different between SP, SH and MH at 6.7, 7.1 and 6.9 km/d, respectively, however, total movement was different (P<0.05) on DH at 10.5 km/d. Sheep movement was greater (P<0.05) on slopes (altitude change in 3m between waypoints) versus flat terrain (movement between waypoints >20m). For example, sheep spent 65% of movement on slope and 39% on flat movement for SH, 86% of movement was spent on slope and 16% on flat terrain for MH, and 89% of movement was spent on slope and 11% movement was on flat for DH. Total energy required between the four habitats was different (P<0.05) at 5.9, 8.6, 7.1 and 13.9 Mcal ME/d for SP, SH, MH and DH respectively. While on summer MH sheep avoided slopes and rugged terrain, but selected for sites close to water, northern facing aspects and areas higher in elevation. We found that sheep expend the most energy on DH and sheep on MH will select for gentle terrain, areas close to water, northern facing slopes, higher elevation and avoid slopes. With this insight, sheep managers can better meet energy requirements needs and understand habitat utilization of their flocks.

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Planned grazing management in rangelands may improve carbon sequestration potential of soils by increasing plant biomass and the rate of nutrient cycling, which might mitigate global warming. The effects of high-intensity, short-duration planned grazing of sheep on several soil and ecosystem properties were investigated on a mixed grassland in San Luis Obispo, CA. The objectives of this study were to (a) identify soil properties related to soil C sequestration in rangelands; (b) determine if planned grazing improved soil carbon sequestration; (c) quantify changes in identified variables in grazed and rested plots; and (d) analyze any changes in plant species composition attributable to grazing. Total rest exclosures and short-duration grazing by sheep at average stocking densities of 115,000 pounds per acre were applied at two sites with clay-loam soils: a rangeland site that had been rested for over 50 years (REX), and an adjacent site that was previously rested for over 50 years, and subsequently grazed for six years (GR). Bare soil, live plants, plant litter, and perennial and annual plant densities were not different between sites. Soil organic carbon (SOC) was higher at the GR site, but total nitrogen was not different between sites, resulting in higher C:N ratios at the GR site. Soil pH was lower at the GR site, moisture was higher at the GR site, and bulk density and aggregate stability were not different between sites. There was a higher incidence of black soils at the REX site, suggesting perhaps a difference in soil mineralogy which may impact SOC. Treatment did not have an effect on any of the variables investigated except perennial plant diversity, in which grazed plots had lower species diversity than rested plots. Site aspect may have an effect on the results, as the GR site was northwest-facing while the REX site was south-facing. It is possible that higher SOC at the GR site is due to topography, rather than grazing management. Further investigation is required, but if grazing can be used in California as a strategy for increasing soil carbon sequestration, the rates of desertification may be slowed and damage caused to the ecosystem by global warming may be reduced.

The mountain brush type in Utah was studied in 1932, 1942, and 1969 to determine the vegetation changes and trends after grazing and protection from grazing for 37 years. Analyses for cover, frequency and composition percentages, production and plant counts were made on fifty 100 square-foot plots in a ten-acre exclosure and on a five-acre grazed area adjacent to the exclosure. Production, cover and composition percentages for good and fair forage species of grasses and browse have decreasesed on the grazed plots whereas they generally increased in the ungrazed plots. Forbs of intermediate forage value have increased in production, cover and composition percentages in both the grazed and ungrazed plots. The effect of intensive livestock grazing on the mountainbrush type in Utah has been to reduce the proportion of herbaceous vegetation and the better forage shrubs and the increase the propotion of poorer forage species.

This study compared feed lot finished beef and grazing standing corn beef from young steers for sensory acceptance, sensory quantitative descriptive analysis attributes palatability and Warner–Bratzler shear force values. In comparing both feeding treatments results indicated no differences (P > 0.05) between feeding treatments for all attributes including appearance, aroma (with handheld) and (with sniff bottle), texture, flavor and basic taste. However, there was difference (P < 0.05) in flavor, offlavor for different feeding systems by panelists. Analysis of variance for Warner- Bratzler shear force values revealed no differences (P > .05) between steaks from two treatments. Based on this research, the meat industry may wish to provide the consumer with the option of choosing beef that was traditionally feed lot finished or beef finished by grazing standing corn. Thus, grazing standing corn beef producers could utilize a practicable alternative feeding system with niche market appeal to represent a viable production option.

The data for this problem were collected at the Desert Range Experiment Station and on adjoining public domain lands during the summer of 1934, for the purpose of studying the influence of overgrazing on the increase of palatable and unpalatable desert forage plants. A vegetative description of the two areas studied has been prepared and presented.