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Show zzzz Natural Revegetation on Forest Ranges By ARTHUR W. SAMPSON, Director Great Basin Experiment Station, Forest Service. I to Its normal forage production. When the entire area has been revegetated the practice of alternate early and late grazing graz-ing of the different parts of the allotment allot-ment each year is essentia! in order to give the vegetation a breathing spell, as it were a chance to recuperate and produce pro-duce a large and fertile seed crop from which new plants may arise to replace those that have died due to age or other causes. Rotation on Forest Reserves. In localities where there still remains a fair stand of seed plants complete re-vegetation re-vegetation has been accomplished in from two to four seasons of deferred grazing. When only a few weak seed plants remain, re-main, however, a much longer time is required re-quired to completely replace the destroyed de-stroyed plants. It is of the greatest importance, im-portance, therefore, to avoid serious overgrazing as the stockman must sooner or later pay for such maltreatment of the range in terms of livestock reductions. Deferred and rotation, grazing on the national forests at the present time is being more extensively applied on the sheep allotments than on cattle range because of the ease with which sheep are controlled. To apply this system on un-fenced un-fenced cattle range requires that no salting salt-ing be done on the area to be reseeded until the crop has ripened. It also re-requires re-requires effective herding. The construction construc-tion of division fences, so placed as to divide the area into three pastures, whereby a third of tho area may be reserved re-served each year for late grazing is, of course, the most effective and d'esirable plan on cattle range. Tills plan is now ; being adopted in various parts of the j country in the revegetation and mainte- nance of farm pastures with most gratifying grati-fying results. HE importance of managing and ' I 1 utilizing the range at all times in 1 a way so as to preserve the forage, stabilize the livestock industry and prevent destructive floods and erosion ero-sion is generally recognized by stockmen. In building up the range it is not possible fully to utilize the vegetation by livestock live-stock year after year unless such utilization utiliza-tion is so adjusted as to permit the vegetation vege-tation on a part of the range to get some rest each growing season in order to remain re-main physiologically strong. Vegetation weakened through overgrazing overgraz-ing year after year either soon dies from actual starvation or it produces only a small amount of weak and late growing forage. The maintenance of a maximum cover of vegetation and the continuance of grazing year after year without regard for the growth requirement of tho plants are naturally antagonistic, and unless certain recognized principles of range and livestock management are put into practice prac-tice the choice forage cover will soon be destroyed. ( Overgrazing Harmful. The first precaution against forage destruction, de-struction, of course, is the avoidance of overgrazing. This, as pointed out in a former article, can best be accomplished by correctly estimating the grazing capacity ca-pacity of the range and then adjusting the number of stock the range unit or allotment will safely carry. Excessive grazing will first show itself in the weakened weak-ened condition or lack of thrift and luxuriance luxu-riance of growth of the most palatable plants. Overgrazing also is usually accompanied ac-companied by the appearance of inc ipient gullies followed by erosion of varying seriousness. ln the revegetation of worn-out ranges one of the problems is to distribute the stock so that each portion of the range will bear its share of early cropping, and in turn will be protected until the main forage plants have ripened their seeds. To accomplish this the system of grazing known as "deferred and rotation grazing" graz-ing" lias been developed, the results of which were published in department of agriculture bulletin No. 34, 1913. Conclusions Developed. Among the evidence developed In the conduct of this investigation the following fol-lowing conclusions were developed: Removal of the herbage year after year during the early part of the growing season sea-son weakens the plants, delays the re-sumptlon re-sumptlon of growth, advances the time of maturity and decreases the seed production pro-duction and the fertility of the seed. Under the practice of year-long or season-long grazing both the growth of the plants) and seed production are seriously interfered with. A range so used, when stocked to its full capacity, finally becomes be-comes denuded. Grazing after seed maturity in no way interferes with flower-stalk production. As much fertile seed is produced as where the vegetation is protected from grazing during the whole year. Deferred grazing (grazing after seed maturity) insures tho planting of the seed crop and the permanent establishment establish-ment of seedling plants without sacrificing sacri-ficing the season's forage or creating a fire hazard. Deferred irrazing can be applied wherever wher-ever the vegetation remains palatablp after seed maturity and produces a seed crop, provided ample water facilities for stock exist or may be developed. Plan for Reseeding. Xaturally the most seriously deplete! portion of a range will be selected first for reveeotation. While this area is being be-ing reseeded the remainder will be grazed dnrine: the earlier part of the season, that Is. before seed maturity. If the area upon which grazing is being deferred Is reseeded, re-seeded, sav. in two seasons, and a second area Is selected, preferably somewhat remote re-mote from the first to facilitate protection protec-tion against grazing, the first reflbrved area will then bp grated earlier as this can be done without injury to the younc seedlings. By adopting this plan there is no necessity of reducing the number of stock grazed while the range is being re-vegetated. re-vegetated. When the second area has been resided resid-ed a third fs selected, and so on, until the whole allotment has been restored |