Considerations
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Grazing Impacts
Livestock
grazing can have both direct and indirect impacts on wildlife.
Direct impacts
include the removal and/or trampling of vegetation that would otherwise
be used for food and cover. The extent to which wildlife will be
affected will depend on the numbers and types of live stock using
the area, the extent (size, pattern, location) of the defoliation,
and alternate habitat available. The pattern of use by livestock
and the resulting increase or decrease in community diversity will
depend upon the terrain (broken, flat, mixed) and availability of
water in the area. While uniform use may be desirable from the standpoint
of maximizing livestock production, it is generally undesirable
to wildlife because of reduced habitat diversity, reduction of heavy
escape cover, and greater interaction between domestic and wild
species (Brown 1978; Mackie 1978).
Indirect impacts
result from changes in vegetation due to livestock grazing. The
diets of wild ungulates may decline in nutritive value as they are
forced to be less selective when cattle grazing reduces plant diversity
and causes a decline in range condition (Holechek et al. 1995).
The continued heavy grazing or browsing by only one species tends
to cause a trend away from one vegetation type to another type.
This is usually undesirable for the animal causing the change.
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