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With the grazing season underway there are some things producers can look at to help gauge the health of their rangelands. One indicator is the species composition; this includes which species and types of plants you are seeing as well as amount of each species. 3 terms that we often hear when talking about range health are decreaser, increaser, and invader which can be used to describe how plants respond to grazing pressure.
Decreasers are typically a large component of a “climax” or desirable plant community in a pasture. Depending on the location, this can include palatable species like green needle-grass.
When grazing pressure is intensified, decreasers are typically replaced by more grazing-tolerant plants; these species are known as your increasers. Over time, their spread can show a visual shift in the plant composition. In some cases, these plants can be less palatable or less productive. As increaser species expand, the grazing capacity of a pasture may decline.
Continued heavy grazing pressure or other disturbances like rutting can give invaders the opportunity to establish. Invaders can be native species that are uncommon to the area, or non-native species that can be particularly difficult to manage.
The grazing response of different plants can vary by region, so it’s important to get to know the local vegetation. The Saskatchewan Forage Council has Plant Identification Field Guides that have common plants and easy-to-use tables that highlights grazing response of different species that you could expect in some areas.
Changes in plant communities – such as a shift from decreaser species to increaser species – may take several years to reverse so recognizing changes early is beneficial.
Finding a grazing management plan that works for an operation can take time. Management techniques like changing livestock distribution, shortening grazing periods, deferring grazing, or resting a pasture for a year are all approaches that could support improvements to range health.
Knowing the species in a pasture and taking an adaptive approach to grazing management allows flexibility in the rotation. The Resilient Agricultural Landscapes Program (RALP) provides funding to assist Saskatchewan farmers and ranchers to implement beneficial management practices (BMPs), including those related to range health.
More information on evaluating range health: decreasers, increasers, and invaders can be found here.