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Rangeland Monitoring in Western Uplands

 

Part 5: Setting Realistic Objectives and Goals

Plant Communities

Plant communities are the major biotic component of the ranch, and provide the available forage for grazing animals. The production and composition of plant communities is dependent on abiotic components of the land including precipitation, soil type and fertility, and topography. This can be further divided into:

 

  • Dominant plant communities
    • Plant species that greatly influence the ecology of the region by means of their numbers or coverage.
  • Desired plant communities
    • The combination of plant species that is best able to meet the production goals of a management plan (such as the plants most desired as forage by livestock).
  • Potential natural plant communities
    • The plant community that is self-perpetuating with no management influences. These plants would occupy the site under the current climatic conditions of the site without further influence by man.

Later in the sub-module, you will learn how to identify and inventory the type of plant (grass, sedge, forb, and shrub) on your ranch in addition to learning how to identify some common western rangeland plants.