A greater than 10-fold increase in Canada goose (Branta canadensis) populations over the past several years has resulted in concerns over grazing impacts on grass seed production in the mid-Willamette Valley, Oregon. This study was designed to develop methods to quantify and statistically analyze goose-grazing impacts on seed yields of...
Numbers of wild Canada geese (Branta canadensis) have increased dramatically during the past 30 years in the lower Columbia and Willamette Valley systems. The damage they cause by grazing and trampling plants can be substantial.
The objectives of this research were to:
1) Develop methods that provide reliable estimates of...
Despite the importance of fodder shrubs to small ruminant diets and production in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, they are often not considered when quantifying grazing land potential. This oversight is mainly due to the time consuming and costly traditional techniques used to estimate shrub biomass. The shrub fodder component should...
Slickspots are soil inclusions with unique loamy soils that provide habitats for many endemic plants worldwide, including those within sagebrush steppe. Sagebrush-dominated communities are declining and require restoration, but restoration techniques commonly used may impact negatively some intermixed communities found on soil inclusions including those on slickspot soils. Slickspot soils...
Medusahead [Taeniatherum caput-medusae (L.) Nevski], a non-native, winter-annual grass (Poaceae), has
invaded rangelands throughout the western USA. Medusahead is an aggressive competitor that crowds out native plants
and reduces forage for wildlife and livestock. Sulfometuron methyl is a sulfonylurea herbicide used to control medusahead,
but its effect on non-target native...
Direct seeding techniques often result in unsatisfactory outcomes in rangeland rehabilitation, primarily because of low seedling emergence and poor establishment. Seed processing techniques aimed at improving seedling emergence have gained interest by pasture managers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the combined effects of bracteole removal and seeding...
Invasive plant species are expanding and transforming vegetative communities across Oregon and throughout the United States. Over the past three decades remote sensing, geographic information system (GIS), and Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies have been integrated to detect and map the distribution of noxious rangeland plants. This study developed low-cost...
Published June 2009. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog