2012 UNDERGRADUATE RANGE MANAGEMENT EXAM (a mini-urme) Instructions. Length of Testing Period. Grading

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1 CONTESTANT NO UNDERGRADUATE RANGE MANAGEMENT EXAM (a mini-urme) Society for Range Management, Wyoming Student Competition Laramie, Wyoming November 10, 2012 Instructions This examination consists of 49 multiple choice questions. Choose the one best answer for each question and fill in the appropriate circle on the scantron answer sheet provided. Put your assigned contestant number on this examination booklet. Put your name and contestant number on the scantron answer sheet. Length of Testing Period 60 Minutes Grading The entire examination is worth 150 points.

2 2 I. RANGE ECOLOGY (30 points) 1. Which is a type of seed dormancy? a. Physiological b. Morphological c. Mechanical d. All of the above e. None of the above 2. Plant ecophysiology is best defined as the study of: a. processes influencing the size and distribution of populations b. physiological function of individual plants in their environment c. structure, function and distribution of groups of plants d. biochemical processes within plants 3. Which of the following are freezing tolerance mechanisms for plants? a. Depression of freezing point b. Supercooling c. Production of extracellular ice and tolerance of dehydration d. All of the above e. None of the above 4. The CO 2 compensation point is best defined as the: a. CO 2 concentration at which photosynthesis equals respiration b. light intensity at which photosynthesis equals respiration c. CO 2 liberated in the presence of light d. light intensity at which respiration no longer increases 5. The conversion of organic nitrogen to the inorganic ammonium (NH 4 + ) form is termed: a. mineralization b. denitrification c. nitrification d. volatilization e. none of the above 6. C 4 plants are less responsive to changes in atmospheric CO 2 concentrations than C 3 plants because: a. they have a lower photosynthetic rate than C 3 plants b. internal CO 2 concentrations are higher than in C 3 plants c. their stomata are completely closed more often than C 3 plants d. all of the above 7. Which of the following would be a representative 13 C value for a C 3 plant species? a. 13 b. 0 c. 27 d. none of the above

3 3 For questions 8-9, please use the following figure (Wang et al REM) 8. (4 pts) If 70% of the annual precipitation (450 mm) occurs in months other than April- July, what is the estimated ANPP? a. 850 kg ha -1 b kg ha -1 c kg ha -1 d. None of the above 9. (4 pts) Weather predictions are for precipitation to be 25% above the long-term mean of 12 cm total for the months of April through July. What is the predicted increase in ANPP associated with this greater precipitation? a. 103 kg ha -1 b. 238 kg ha -1 c. 969 kg ha -1 d. None of the above 10. Slow changes in physiological state or morphology in response to chronic exposure to a new environment is called: a. Acclimation b. Transpiration c. Hypothermia d. Behavioral thermoregulation 11. Increasing wind velocity will evaporation and the effectiveness of precipitation. a. Increase, decrease b. Decrease, increase c. Increase, increase d. Decrease, decrease

4 4 12. The process which occurs when two or more organisms are making a common endeavor to acquire a resource in excess of immediate supply is called: a. Allelopathy b. Mutualism c. Competition d. Neutralism 13. The develops into the first leaf of the grass plant. a. scutellum b. coleoptile c. coleorhiza d. plumule II. GRAZING MANAGEMENT (24 points) 14. (4 pts) How many days should a herd of 820 steers (0.7 AUE) graze in a 2,400 ha pasture that has a grazing capacity of 0.4 AUM/ha? a. 1.7 b c d For question 15, please use the following table (Harmoney and Jaeger 2011 REM) 15. (4 pts) Which of the following statements regarding grazing systems is most correct? a. Grazing system did not affect average daily gain with a notable exception of early-season (May-July) average daily gain b. Grazing system did affect steer production with the season-long stocking (SLS) having greater production than the intensive early-stocking (IES) c. Grazing system did not affect total steer gain with a notable exception of average total steer gain from July-October 16. If a rancher turns bulls out on April 28, what would be the expected starting date of calving? a. January 10 b. February 1 c. March 10 d. April 1

5 5 17. Older plants compared to younger plants have a percentage of lignin and cellulose and digestibility. a. Lower, higher b. Lower, lower c. Higher, higher d. Higher, lower For questions 18 and 19, please use the following figure (Brunson and Tanaka 2011 REM) 18. (4 pts) If the stocking rate for the spring period was 0.4 AUM/ha with a total pasture size of 750 hectares, what would be the stocking rate for the early summer time period if all the livestock are moved from the spring to the early summer range, and the BLM deeded range has four 250 hectare pastures used in a rotation during the early summer time period? a AUM/ha b AUM/ha c. 0.9 AUM/ha d. 1.8 AUM/ha 19. (4 pts) If the stocking rate for the fall period was 2.1 AUM/ha with a total pasture size of 500 hectares, how much hay would need to be feed during the winter period for all the livestock moved from the fall aftermath to winter feed area, assuming 10 kg of hay is needed per AU each day? a. 21,000 kg b. 42,000 kg c. 682,500 kg d. 1,365,000 kg

6 6 20. (4 pts) A producer is contemplating a switch from a cow-calf (AUE=1.3) to yearling (AUE=0.65) grazing operation. Implementation of this switch in grazing operations will involve changing the grazing season, which was formerly year-round to now a May 1 October 31 grazing season. In addition, the stocking rate will be doubled during the new grazing season (to 0.8 AUM/ha) compared to the prior year-round rate of 0.4 AUM/ha. Which of the following statements is most correct regarding the total number of yearlings in the new grazing operation compared to the number of cow-calf pairs in the prior grazing operation? a. There will be the same number of yearlings as cow-calf pairs the previous year b. There will be twice the number of yearlings as cow-calf pairs the previous year c. There will be four times the number of yearlings as cow-calf pairs the previous year d. There will be eight times the number of yearlings as cow-calf pairs the previous year IIa. GRAZING MANAGEMENT PROBLEM (6 points) See END OF TEST III. RANGE IMPROVEMENT (24 points) For question 21, please use the following figure (Abatzoglou and Kolden 2011 REM) 21. (4 pts) As wildfire potential increases: a. Invasion potential is negatively affected b. Climate variability becomes greater c. Potential establishment of invasives is unaffected d. Fuels and fire regimes are altered through positive feedbacks on invasion potential and establishment of invasives

7 7 22. Selective herbicides are classified as those that, while translocated herbicides are classified as those that. a. Kill particular groups of species, are applied to one plant part and carried to other plant parts b. Kill plant parts directly exposed, kill or damage all plant species c. Are applied to one plant part and carried to other plant parts, kill particular groups of species d. Kill or damage all plant species, kill plant parts directly exposed 23. Discounting is a procedure used to determine: a. The cost of an improvement practice b. The returns from an improvement practice c. The present value of a future sum d. Current ranch value e. Variable costs 24. (4 pts) For a planting of species X, which has 385,000 seeds/kg and PLS of 74%, how many kg/ha of seed need to be planted to achieve 215 PLS/m 2? a. 4.1 b. 5.6 c. 7.5 d e Reducing the density of shrubs in shrublands with a selective herbicide can: a. Increase production of understory grasses b. Increase potential sites for invasion by non-desirable plants c. Increase grazing capacity d. All of the above e. None of the above 26. Which soil amendment is most commonly used to decrease soil acidity? a. Nitrogen fertilizer b. Manure application c. Compost application d. Sewage sludge application e. Lime application

8 8 For questions 27 and 28, please use the following table (Vermeire and Roth 2011 REM) 27. (4 pts) Which of the following statements is most correct regarding fuel loads? a. Numbers of live cladodes of prickly pear cactus are strongly reduced as fuel loads increase b. Numbers of new cladodes of prickly pear cactus are strongly increased as fuel loads decrease c. Root organic matter of prickly pear cactus exhibits no differential responses to fuel loads >1500 kg/ha 28. (4 pts) Which of the following statements is most correct regarding fuel loads? a. Fuel loads affect numbers of new cladodes but not mass of total live cladodes b. Fuel loads affect numbers of live cladodes but not mass of live original cladodes c. Fuel loads affect mass but not numbers of cladodes of prickly pear cactus IIIa. RANGE IMPROVEMENT PROBLEM (6 points) - SEE END OF TEST IV. RANGE REGIONS (16 points) 29. In the western United States, which community would you expect to occur at a higher elevation than Sagebrush-Grass? a. Pinyon-Juniper b. Salt-desert Shrub c. Both A and B 30. In the Douglas fir-aspen zone of the Western Coniferous forest, which of the following statements is correct? a. Douglas fir is fire tolerant, but not shade tolerant b. Aspen is fire tolerant, but not shade tolerant c. Aspen is both fire and shade tolerant d. Aspen is shade tolerant, but not fire tolerant 31. Which of the following combinations of range regions and grazing resistance is correct? a. Palouse prairie high grazing resistance b. shortgrass prairie high grazing resistance c. southern pine forest low grazing resistance d. all of the above e. none of the above

9 9 32. Which of the following grasslands occupies the largest area today? a. tallgrass prairie b. shortgrass prairie c. southern mixed prairie d. northern mixed prairie For questions 33 and 34, please use the following figure (Brooks and Chambers 2011 REM) 33. (4 pts) Regarding precipitation, which of the following statements is most correct? a. Perennial grasses in these desert regions decrease with increasing percentage of winter precipitation b. The percentage of winter precipitation is more important in productivity of these desert regions than is annual precipitation amount c. The annual precipitation amount is more important in the percentage of woody perennials in the plant communities of these desert regions than percentage of winter precipitation 34. (4 pts) Which of the following statements is most correct? a. Woody perennials are greater in the Great Basin desert compared to the Chihuahuan desert primarily because of greater annual precipitation b. Perennial grasses are greater in Chihuahuan desert compared to the Great Basin desert primarily because of a lower percentage of winter precipitation c. Woody perennial are generally greater in the Mojave desert compared to the Sonoran desert primarily because of greater annual precipitation V. RANGE INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS (20 points) 35. Which of the following plots would have the largest perimeter to area ratio? a. Circular plot with area of 1m 2 b. Square plot with area of 1m 2 c. Rectangular plot with area of 1m 2

10 Which of the following would one expect when variability in plant communities increases? a. Number of quadrats examined should increase b. Quadrat size should increase c. Need for stratification should increase d. All of the above e. None of the above 37. The frequency value of a species is dependent upon: a. Quadrat size b. Plant distribution c. Plant size d. All of the above e. None of the above 38. Which of the following plant characteristics is least subject to annual fluctuations? a. basal cover b. frequency c. foliar cover d. biomass 39. (4 pts) The net cost per cow unit is $475. If the calves weaned per cow exposed to a bull is 85%, what is the breakeven cost ($/kg) on weaned calves weighing 270 kg? a. $1.50 b. $1.74 c. $2.07 d. $ (4 pts) Clipping of grazed plots (25 cm X 20 cm) results in the estimate of 15 grams of remaining residue per plot. What is this value expressed as kg/ha? a. 3 b. 30 c. 300 d (4 pts) A range utilization study of a pasture indicates that 50% of the key species on the key areas has been utilized to date. The management goal for proper use is 60%. The pasture has been stocked with 200 animal units for the past 4 months at the time of the survey. What is the estimated grazing capacity of this pasture in AUM's? a. 133 b. 300 c. 533 d. 960 e Va. RANGE INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS PROBLEM (10 points) - SEE END OF TEST

11 11 VI. MULTIPLE USE RELATIONSHIPS (14 points) 42. Infiltration is defined as the, while percolation refers to the. a. movement of water into a soil profile, movement of water from soil profile into a plant s root b. movement of water within a soil profile, movement of water into a soil profile c. movement of water from soil profile to the atmosphere, movement of water within a soil profile d. movement of water into a soil profile, movement of water from soil profile to the atmosphere e. movement of water into a soil profile, movement of water within a soil profile For question 43, please use the following figure (Shindler et al REM) 43. (4 pts) Which of the following would be a correct recommendation to policy makers based on this data? a. Urban persons are more likely to perceive overgrazing and wild horse overpopulation as threats to rangelands than are rural persons b. Rural persons are more likely to perceive invasive plants and juniper encroachment as threats to rangelands than are urban persons c. The perception of wildfire as threat to rangelands is similar between urban and rural persons

12 12 For questions 44 and 45, please use the following figure (Pierson et al REM) 44. (4 pts) Which of the following statements regarding hydrologic response is most correct? a. As bare ground and slope increase, hydrologic responses of runoff and erosion are decreased b. As ground cover and roughness increase, hydrologic responses of runoff and erosion are decreased c. As aggregate stability and soil structure increase, hydrologic responses of runoff and erosion are increased d. As bare ground and slope decrease, hydrologic responses of runoff and erosion are increased 45. (4 pts) Which of the following statements regarding hydrologic processes is most correct? a. Rainsplash and sheetflow processes dominate the hydrologic responses in areas that are burned b. Concentrated flow processes dominate the hydrologic responses in areas that are not burned c. Rainsplash and sheetflow processes dominate the hydrologic responses in areas that are not burned d. Rainsplash and sheetflow processes dominate the hydrologic responses in areas that are in unstable states

13 13 GRAZING MANAGEMENT PROBLEM (6 points) One of your best friends has recently purchased a 14,000 ha ranch in Brazil and invites you to provide consulting for the operation regarding grazing management. You take a flight from Spokane to Salt Lake City to Houston to Rio de Janeiro and then an in-country flight to Goiania via Brazilia. Once in Goiania, your friend picks you up at the airport and drives you 400 km north and west to the ranch, which is in the cerrado (open woodland/savanna) region. Here you meet up with some Embrapa researchers who provide you with a quick overview of the primary forage species (all C4 grasses) and the generalities of the grazing seasons (7 months wet / 5 months dry), along with their interpretations of the prior management on the ranch. Your friend provides you information on the past grazing management: 4000 Zebu (Bos indicus) yearlings (AU=0.60) were run on the ranch for the entire year. Your friend wants to increase that number by 25% this year, and intensify management by increasing stock density (yearlings/ha) to 25 during the wet season months. 46. (6 pts) Using the data provided above, determine how many equal-sized pastures (assume capacity is similar across the entire ranch) are needed to meet the goal of stock density during the wet season grazing, if each pasture is used only once, all the yearlings graze as a single herd, and the entire ranch is grazed during the wet season? a. 70 b. 88 c. 120 d. 146 e. 560 Answer: to get 25 yearling/ha with 5000 yearlings (4000 from year before + added 25% or 1000 head) take the 5000 yearling divided by 25 to get a pasture size of 200 ha. 14,000 ha divided by 200 ha in each pasture = 70 pastures

14 14 RANGE IMPROVEMENTS PROBLEM (6 points) Your task is to develop a seeding mixture to provide seed to plant a 5,000 ha native pasture that has some soil compaction problems and has been infested with annual brome grasses. After consultation with the livestock producer who grazes cattle in this pasture, it is decided that an aerator with an attached seedbox pulled by a large 4-wheeled tractor will be used to apply the seed to the pasture. This aerator has spiral blades that increase productivity by slicing through rhizomes to stimulate plant growth while it leaves litter in place on the soil surface and breaks up soil compaction to allow nutrients and water to be absorbed more readily. Local experts recommended a seed mixture that contained10% of species A, 20% of species B, 30% of species C and D each, and the remaining 10% of species E. Below is a summary table providing information. Species Bulk Seeding Rate (kg/ha) Cost ($/kg of bulk seed) Germination (%) Purity (%) A B C D E (6 pts) Which of the following species is the lowest cost in terms of $/kg of PLS seed? a. A b. B c. C d. D e. E Answer: Obtain % PLS (germination X purity) for each species. Divide cost of bulk seed by % PLS value to get dollars per kg of PLS seed. Species A: 0.8 X 0.85 = 0.68 so 10.00/0.68 = $/kg of PLS Species B: 0.7 X 0.9 = 0.63 so 7.50/0.63 = $/kg of PLS Species C: 0.8 X 0.75 = 0.6 so 8.00/0.6 = $/kg of PLS Species D: 0.9 X 0.4 = 0.36 so 6.00/0.36 = $/kg of PLS Species E: 0.9 X 0.3 = 0.27 so 4.00/0.27 = $/kg of PLS

15 15 RANGE INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS PROBLEM 10 points total You are charged with assessing shrub production on big game winter range for a cattle ranch (5000 ha) in south-central Idaho that makes additional money by guiding big game hunters in the fall. You are interested in estimating annual production (kg/ha) for Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle & Young), an important winter browse species for mule deer and elk on the ranch. You design a study where you estimate sagebrush production in a 50 m long x 100 cm wide belt transect using a sagebrush reference unit to quantify shrub production available to big game. A reference unit is a typical branch that you cut from an unmarked sagebrush plant, away from your transect. The browse material on the branch is similar to that on the smallest plant and no less than one-twentieth of the largest plant you may encounter in your belt transects. You use the reference unit to estimate how many reference units are found in sagebrush plants in your belt transect. It is acceptable to record fractions of plants (e.g., 9.5). Finally, you clip and weigh the current annual leader growth and leaves from the reference unit to provide a fresh weight (7.0 g) to convert into estimated weights. Reference Unit Method Plant number Number of reference units in each sagebrush plant (5 pts) The above table reports results for the 10 Wyoming big sagebrush shrubs. What is the average fresh weight (g) per Wyoming big sagebrush shrub? a b c d Answer: Calculated as = (574/10) = 57.4 g fresh weight 49. (5 pts) After determining that 40% of the fresh weight of the reference unit was water, how much kg/shrub of dry matter did the Wyoming big sagebrush plants produce on average? a b c d Answer: 0.7 g of fresh weight becomes 0.42 g of dry matter with the 60% value. Calculated as g average dry weight x 1 kg/1000 g = 0.03 kg DM/shrub