Background Information on Plants

Review this presentation and notes if the following terms are note familiar and clear: Grasses, Grass-like, Forbs, Shrubs, Herbaceous, Browse, Mast, Annuals, Biennials, Perennials, Native plants, Introduced plants, Naturalized plants, Suffrutescent, Cool Season plants, and Warm Season plants.

♦ Presentation– Plant Basics

__» Background Notes on Plant Basics _(PDF)

♦ Background Video– Grass Growth Stages & Grazing Impacts (University of Wyoming)

Plant Response to Disturbance

♦ Plant Morphology affecting Response to Disturbance
» Video | Presentation (pdf) | NoteGuide (pdf)

♦ Plant Physiology affecting Response to Disturbance –
» Video | PowerPoint (pdf)  | NoteGuide (pdf)

♦ Plant Response to Grazing

» Video | PowerPoint |Note Guide

♦  Plant Response to Fire

» Video | PowerPoint | Note Guide

~~~~Readings
→ Background Reading– Understanding Grass Growth (Waller et al. 1985)
→ Supplemental Website on Basic Grass Growth (Oregon State University)
→ Required Reading – Range Readiness (Fraser 2003)
→ Required Reading – Carbohydrate Reserves: What you learned may be wrong. (Burritt & Reid 2012)
→ Required Reading – Factors Influencing Grazing Tolerance
→ Required Reading – What grows back after fire? (Smith & Davison 1996)

~~~~ Interesting Case about Grazing in Ecosystems: Point – Counterpoint
→ How to fight desertification and reverse climate change. (TED Talk by Allan Savory)
→ The Savory Method Can Not Green Deserts or Reverse Climate Change (Counterpoint Paper)

Plant Nutritive Value & Toxicity

♦ Plant Nutritive Value

» Video| PowerPoint | NoteGuide (MS Word)

♦ Toxic Rangeland Plants
» Video| PowerPoint | NoteGuide

~~~~Readings

→ Required Reading – Why Range Forage Quality Changes. (Lyons et al. 1999)
→ Required Video  – “The Challenge” (Utah State Univ. Extension)
→ Required Reading – Why Animals Die from Eating Poisonous Plants? (Burritt 2012)

Range Animal Digestion & Nutrition

♦ Animal Foraging Characteristics

» Video | PowerPoint | NoteGuide _{(MS Word)}

♦ Herbivore Classification

» Video| PowerPoint | NoteGuide _{(MS Word)}

♦  Basic Principles of Rangeland Animal Nutrition

» Video| PowerPoint | NoteGuide _{(MS Word)}

~~~~ Readings
→  Required Reading – Grazing Behavior of Livestock and Wildlife. (Shipley 1999)
→  Required Reading – What Range Herbivores Eat–and Why (Lyons et al. 1999)

Meeting Animal Demand & Intake

♦ Animal Demand
» Video | PowerPoint | Note Guide _{(MS Word)}

♦ Range Animals Intake
» Video| PowerPoint | NoteGuide _{(MS Word)}

♦ Matching Supply & Demand
» Video | PowerPoint | NoteGuide _{(MS Word)}

~~~~ Readings
→ Required Reading – Nutritional Value of Range Forage for Livestock (Ruyle 1993)
→ Required Reading – Matching the Cattle Production Cycle to Forage Availability on the High Plains (Steffens et al. 2015)