the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Management-intensive Grazing Affects Soil Health
Abstract. Management-intensive Grazing (MiG) on irrigated, perennial pastures has steadily increased in the western US due to pressure for reducing public lands grazing, overall declining land available for pasture, and decreasing commodity prices. However, there are still many unknowns regarding MiG and its environmental impact, especially with regards to soil health. Over a two-year period, we studied changes in soil health under a full-scale, 82 ha pivot-irrigated perennial pasture system grazed with ~ 230 animal units (AUs) using MiG. Soil analysis included 11 soil characteristics aggregated into the Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF), which outputs results for soil biological, physical, nutrient, chemical, and overall soil health indices (SHI). Positive impacts were observed in the biological SHI due to increases in microbial and enzymatic activities, even though soil organic C (SOC) remained relatively unchanged; however, positive biological SHI changes are likely precursors to future SOC increases. The nutrient SHI declined due to a reduction in plant-available soil P over time, potentially due to greater plant uptake. A negative impact was also observed in the physical SHI, driven primarily by increasing bulk density due to hoof pressure from cattle grazing. If managed correctly, results suggest that irrigated, MiG systems have the potential for success with regards to supporting grazing while promoting soil health for environmental and economic sustainability.
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Interactive discussion
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RC1: 'soil', Anonymous Referee #1, 04 Mar 2020
- AC1: 'Author's reply to Reviewer #1 Comments', Jim Ippolito, 30 Mar 2020
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RC2: 'Review on Management-intensive Grazing Affects Soil Health', Anonymous Referee #2, 13 Mar 2020
- AC1: 'Author's reply to Reviewer #1 Comments', Jim Ippolito, 30 Mar 2020
- AC2: 'Author's reply to Reviewer #2 Comments', Jim Ippolito, 30 Mar 2020
Interactive discussion
-
RC1: 'soil', Anonymous Referee #1, 04 Mar 2020
- AC1: 'Author's reply to Reviewer #1 Comments', Jim Ippolito, 30 Mar 2020
-
RC2: 'Review on Management-intensive Grazing Affects Soil Health', Anonymous Referee #2, 13 Mar 2020
- AC1: 'Author's reply to Reviewer #1 Comments', Jim Ippolito, 30 Mar 2020
- AC2: 'Author's reply to Reviewer #2 Comments', Jim Ippolito, 30 Mar 2020
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Cited
4 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Moving towards an anti-colonial definition for regenerative agriculture B. Sands et al. 10.1007/s10460-023-10429-3
- Comprehensive assessment of soil quality in various land uses: a comparative analysis of soil quality index models N. Emami et al. 10.1007/s12665-024-11789-7
- Furrow-irrigated corn residue management and tillage strategies for improved soil health R. Afshar et al. 10.1016/j.still.2021.105238
- Tracking Soil Health Changes in a Management-Intensive Grazing Agroecosystem T. Trimarco et al. 10.3390/soilsystems7040094
Casey Shawver
James A. Ippolito
Joe Brummer
Jason Ahola
Ryan Rhoades
This preprint has been withdrawn.
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