USFS Rangeland Management Seminar July 26 th August 9 th, Glossary of Terms

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1 USFS Rangeland Management Seminar July 26 th August 9 th, 2015 Glossary of Terms Accessibility The ease with which herbivores can reach plants or plant parts. Agroforestry intentionally combines agriculture and forestry to create integrated and sustainable land-use systems. Agroforestry takes advantage of the interactive benefits from combining trees and shrubs with crops and/or livestock. Agroforestry practices include: Alley Cropping, Forest Farming, Riparian Forest Buffers, Silvopasture, and Windbreaks... Backfiring Ignition of a fire on the leeward (downwind) side of a burn area, resulting in a slow moving ground fire. cf. headfiring Basal area The cross sectional area of the stem or stems of a plant or of all plants in a stand. Herbaceous and small woody plants are measured at or near the ground level; larger woody plants are measured at breast or other designated height. Biomass The total amount of living plants and animals above and below ground in an area at a given time. Biotic Refers to living components of an ecosystem. Breeding Herd The animals retained for breeding purposes to provide for the perpetuation of the herd or band. Excludes animals being prepared for market. Browse(n) ( The part of shrubs, woody vines and trees available for animal consumption. (v.) To search for or consume browse. Browse Line A well-defined height to which browse has been removed by animals. Brush Control Reduction of unwanted woody plants through fire, chemicals, mechanical methods, or biological means to achieve desired land management goals. Canopy (1) The vertical projection downward of the aerial portion of vegetation, usually expressed as a percent of the ground so occupied. (2) The aerial portion of the overstory vegetation. Carrying Capacity The average number of livestock and/or wildlife that may be sustained on a management unit compatible with management objectives for the unit. 1

2 Close Herding Handling a herd in a closely bunched manner, restricting the natural spread of the animals when grazing. Closed Range Any range on which livestock grazing or other specified use is prohibited Common Use Grazing the current year's forage production by more than one kind of grazing animal either at the same time or at different seasons. Community A general term for an assemblage of plants and/or animals living together and interacting among themselves in a specific location; no particular successional status is implied. Complementary Pasture Short-term forage crop (not necessarily annual) planted for use by domestic stock to enhance the management and productivity of the ranch. Conservation District A public organization created under state enabling law as a specialpurpose district to develop and carry out a program of a soil, water, and related resource conservation, use, and development within its boundaries. Consolidated Band A band of sheep made up of several small bands. Continuous Grazing The grazing of a specific unit by livestock throughout a year or for that part of the year during which grazing is feasible. The term is not necessarily synonymous with yearlong grazing, since seasonal grazing may be involved. A preferred term is continuous stocking. Cured Forage Forage, either standing or harvested, that has been naturally or artificially dried and preserved for future use. cf. stockpiling. Deferred Grazing The deferment of grazing in a nonsystematic rotation with other land units Drip Torch Portable equipment for applying flammable liquids giving a residual flame upon ignition; primarily used in prescribed burning. Ecosystem Organisms together with their abiotic environment, forming an interacting system, inhabiting an identifiable space. Exempt Stock Livestock which are permitted to graze on federal land free of charge. Usually confined to animals actually used for domestic purposes: saddle horses, milk cows, etc. Feral Escaped from cultivation or domestication and existing in the wild. cf. acclimatized species. 2

3 Firebreak A natural or man-made barrier used to prevent or retard the spread of fire, that is in existence or made before a fire occurs. It is usually created by the removal of vegetation. cf. fireline, fuelbreak. Fireline A narrow line, 2 to 10 feet wide, from which all vegetation is removed by soil sterilization, yearly maintenance, treatment with a suitable fire retardant, or clearing just before ignition of a prescribed burn. Forage (n.) Browse and herbage which is available and may provide food for grazing animals or be harvested for feeding. (v.) To search for or consume forage. cf. (v.) browse, graze. Forage Crop A crop of cultivated plants or plant parts, other than separated grain, produced to be grazed or harvested for use as feed for animals. Forested Range Forestland that produces, at least periodically, sufficient understory vegetation suitable for forage and that can be grazed without significantly impairing wood production and other forest values. Syn. grazable woodland, woodland range. Frontal Grazing A grazing method that allocated forage within a land area by means of a sliding fence that livestock can advance to gain access to ungrazed forage. Grazing Capacity The maximum stocking rate that will achieve a target level of animal performance, in a specified grazing method, based on total nutrient resources available. Growth Regulator A growth regulator is a natural or synthetic compound that regulates plant or insect growth. A growth retardant is a natural or synthetic compound that reduces or stops plant growth Headfiring Ignition of a fire on the windward (upwind) side of a burn area, resulting in a fairly rapid moving fire. cf. backfiring. Holistic Management Holistic Management is a practical, goal-oriented approach to the management of the ecosystem including the human, financial and biological resources. Integrated planning for rangeland management. The management of rangelands occurs within the context of dynamic social and political pressures as well as complex institutional settings within a nation s governance system. Effective management requires a rational and thorough approach to allocating multiple interests and priorities. Intensive Grazing Management Grazing management that attempts to increase production or utilization per unit area or production per animal through a relative increase in stocking rates, forage utilization, labor, resources, or capital. Intensive grazing management is not synonymous with rotation grazing. 3

4 Land Use Incentives A method for implementing land use plans in which a governmental unit offers inducements, usually monetary, to private landowners for adopting certain land uses or practices. Maintenance Burning The use of prescribed burning to maintain vegetation in a desired condition. Nurse Crop A temporary crop seeded at or near the time primary plant species are seeded to provide protection and otherwise help to insure establishment of the latter. cf. companion crop, preparatory crop. Overgrazing Continued heavy grazing which exceeds the recovery capacity of the community and creates a deteriorated range. cf. overuse. Plant Community An assemblage of plants occurring together at any point in time, thus denoting no particular successional status. A unit of vegetation. Prescribed Burning The use of fire as a management tool under specified conditions for burning a predetermined area. cf. maintenance burning. Proper Stocking Placing a number of animals on a given area that will result in proper use at the end of the planned grazing period. Continued proper stocking will lead to proper grazing. Rangelands are any extensive area of land that is occupied by herbaceous or shrubby vegetation. The vegetation of rangelands may include tall grass prairies, shortgrass prairies, steppes, desert shrublands, shrub woodlands, meadows, savannas, chaparrals, and tundras. Temperate and tropical forests that are used for grazing as well as timber production can also be considered rangeland. Range Degradation The process that leads to an irreversible reduction in capability of an ecological site to produce vegetation. Rangeland Remote Sensing The detection, identification and assessment of condition of objects on rangelands with a camera, or other imaging device, situated at an appreciable distance from the imaged subject. Riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by hydrophilic plants. Riparian zones are significant in ecology, environmental management, and civil because of their role in soil conversation, their habitat biodiversity,, and the influence they have on fauna and aquatic ecosystems, including grassland, woodland, wetland, or even non-vegetative. 4

5 Rest Rotation A grazing management scheme in which rest periods for individual pastures, paddocks or grazing units, generally for the full growing season, are incorporated into a grazing rotation. cf. grazing system. Rotation Grazing Confining animals to an area of grazing land to provide the daily allowance of forage per animal. cf. strip grazing. Secondary Range Range which is lightly used or unused by livestock under minimal management and will ordinarily not be fully used until the primary range has been overused. Seral Refers to species or communities that are eventually replaced by other species or communities within a sere (plant communities that develop in a given situation). Stocking Rate The relationship between the number of animals and the grazing management unit utilized over a specified time period. May be expressed as animal units per unit of land area (animal units over a described time period/area of land).. Transitory range is range that is available for livestock use for some portion of the plant communities movement from early to late seral stages. An example would be forested plant communities that produce large quantities of usable livestock forage after timber harvest or fires but later when the canopy closes in that forage is no longer available. Tundra Land areas in arctic and alpine regions devoid of large trees, varying from bare ground to various types of vegetation consisting of grasses, sedges, forbs, dwarf shrubs and trees, mosses. Understory Plants growing beneath the canopy of other plants. Usually refers to grasses, forbs and low shrubs under a tree or shrub canopy Watershed (1) A total area of land above a given point on a waterway that contributes runoff water to the flow at that point. (2) A major subdivision of a drainage basin. Wetlands Areas characterized by soils that are usually saturated or ponded, i.e., hydric soils that support mostly water-loving plants (hydrophytic plants). 5