ESPM 186 - Midterm

Globally, are rangelands important for carbon storage? Why?

Yes, ½ global C stored in rangeland soils

oaks store C in roots

grasses have deeper roots = better C storage

This represents how much a cow eats vs. how fibrous the forage or feed is. Please explain A, B, and C for a cow. What is going on at each point? Why is forage intake low at A and C? Draw a line that you think might be right for a horse and explain why.

A low fiber: high protein, eat less but feel more full

B intermediate fiber: right ratio so they eat a lot to feel full

C high fiber: clogs rumen, eat less, can starve themselves of nutrients because of slow digestion

Horse’s line = linear, straight up (hindgut fermenter = can eat more fiber & poop out easier!)

What are some of the excuses used to exclude sheepherders from much of the Sierra Nevada?

Preserve fragile ecosystems, endangered species, restrictions to accommodate recreational activities, historical overuse of land for grazing, allowing ecosystems to recover.

dumbbell phytolith

purple needlegrass has this fossilized shape of silica

Stocker

young cattle raised to gain weight before progressing to further stages of beef production

Transition in a states and transition model

shift from 1 state to another - driven by climate, human activities, or natural events.

Understand how ecosystems evolve and transform over time.

Phase in a states and transition model

state/condition within an ecosystem

Non-equilibrium system model

rather than assuming stable/ balanced state, understand role of disturbances of environmental variability and species interactions in shaping the ecosystem (disturbances not good or bad)

Rangelands

large area of land where native vegetation is grass, forbs, shrub, sometimes trees

vegetation is grazed or can be grazed for livestock

Seedstock

selective breeding to produce next generation of “improved” livestock animals

serpentine

low quality soil, high in heavy metals

Which two vitamins are commonly limited on rangelands in some seasons? Please explain your answer.

Vitamin A deficiency - winter and early spring → affects vision, skin, and immune system.

Vitamin D deficiency - limited sunlight, cloudy regions → affects calcium absorption, bone health, and immunity.

Is smokey a good or bad guy when it comes to the fire problem in the US? Justify your answer.

GOOD - encourages fire prevention and responsible behavior in wildland areas (unattended campfires, discarded cig butts)

What is protein mainly used for in mammals?

Growth and repair of tissues and cells, enzymes, hormones

What are carbohydrates mainly used for in mammals?

Main energy source, glucose, glycogen for later use, brain function, blood sugar regulation

Spanish or Mexican land grant. (CA)

Ranchos given by Spanish//Mexican

Native people’s land granted to missions/private systems

Spanish land allocation policies in CA = influenced by large ranch-style land ownership

Some tribes lost their ancestral lands because, to establish a reservation, tribes needed to own land.

When do the annual grasslands of California germinate?

Break of season in fall (oct).
First 1.2 inch of rain in a week, enough to germinate

Cow Intake vs. Fiber Content graph. Which arrow represents fiber content, and which is protein content, in grass. Please explain why these proportions change over the life of the grass and what is happening at A, B, and C.

Grass maturation = protein decrease, fiber increase

Cell wall size increases to keep structure rigid

Can you use a states and transition model to show linear deterministic succession?

Why don’t we know more about the species composition of pre-contact grasslands (see Schiffman)

Sparse documentation before European contact.

Changes in ecosystems over time.

Loss of indigenous knowledge.

Difficulty in reconstructing past conditions.

Why do we create Ecological Site Descriptions?

1. Stratifying the landscape

2. Interpreting resource hazards/opportunities

3. Monitoring/assessment

4. Prioritizing management actions

What are the two largest land management agencies in the US?

Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management

What is protein mainly used for in mammals?

What are carbohydrates mainly used for in mammals?

Which two vitamins are commonly limited on rangelands in some seasons? Please explain your answer.

Is smokey a good or bad guy when it comes to the fire problem in the US? Justify your answer.

What do you think is the best time to time for calving in the CAG? (see George, think about Briones). Explain your answer.

If you are working in a chaparral landscape, how would the outcomes vary depending on fire frequency? (see Quinn and Keeley for more info)

Healthy amount = post-fire recovery 5-10 years, chaparral shrubs need fire to germinate

Super high = recovery time too short! burns empty seed bank, kills resprouting shrubs, leads to change in vegetation type

What are the three major factors affecting fire behavior?

1. Fuel - fuel availability, dryness, size, arrangement

2. Weather - temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind

3. Topography - slope steepness, shape, aspect

What are the four “stomachs” of a ruminant and what do each of them do?

1. Rumen - absorbs nutrients, helps ferment, digests proteins

2. Reticulum - traps rocks/metals/large food particles that are hard to digest

3. Omasum - absorbs water/nutrients from whats been chewed 2x

4. Abomasum - "true-stomach” functions as non-ruminant stomach, hydrochloric acid, digestive enzymes

What are some of the things that influence oak recruitment success on rangelands?

Summer grazing - seedlings are green so grazers will eat it

Volcanic soil - has minerals, oaks do better

Gophers, cattle, squirrels will eat oaks!

What is the most common oak on campus?

Coast Live Oak

Did acorn processing change the way you think about oaks and acorns? Explain your answer.

Acorn processing is a tedious but meaningful tradition; acorns are tiny things that are easy to overlook, but it’s beautiful that they bring people together. Loss of oaks will further contribute to the loss of native traditions

Compare some of the characteristics of equilibrium vs. non-equilibrium models/ecosystems and how they influence management.

EQUILIBRIUM: stable/predictable, biologically controlled, density dependence, resource competition

NON-EQUILIBRIUM: not stable/predictable, abiotic limitations, density independent

What are some reasons the native perennial grasslands and annual/perennial forblands of California were largely invaded by non-native plants?

European colonization - introduction of livestock, elimination of indigenous people, loss of prescribed burning

N deposition improved soil quality

In what season is forage quality the highest in California annual grasslands and why?

Spring (March, April, May) - Adequate green season with protein and less fiber

In what season is forage quality the lowest in California annual grasslands and why?

Late summer - Forage is dry and fibrous, with little to no protein

Briefly describe the major characteristics of a Mediterranean climate.

Temperate, low rainfall, 30-40deg latitude, prone to disturbance/fire

Are today's wildfire's anthropogenic or natural? Please justify your answer.

Natural but the frequency/intensity has increased due to anthropogenic factors (history of fire/grazing suppression, increased shrub density as fire hazard).

Give examples of primary and secondary consumers on rangelands

primary consumers: herbivores (cows, deers)

secondary consumers: carnivores (mountain lions, wolves, coyotes)

Is there such a thing as an ungrazed rangeland? Explain

Not really because insects can be thought of as small grazers.

Briefly explain why as fiber increases rate of passage increases in the horse and decreases in the cow.

horse: hindgut fermenters, no rumen. fiber passes easily

cow: foregut fermenters, rumen. fiber clogs up digestive system

Give examples of abiotic and biotic controls on vegetation characteristics and/or dynamics in California.

abiotic: weather (temperature, rainfall)

biotic: grazers, species diversity

As range, wildlife, or forest managers, why do we care if a system is more equilibrium or non-equilibrium?

attitude: non-eq allows for disturbances while eq aims to minimize disturbance

intermediate disturbance = peak productivity
common disturbance = less stable system

CA = non-eq system, no stabilizing feedback loops

What are the major precipitation gradients in California and what causes them?

North to south (less) and coast to inland (least) caused by the Sierra mountains/elevation. Rainshadow effect.

Is it a good thing if a vernal pool or stock pond in CAG dries up? Why or why not?

Yes; native species are adapted to drainage (i.e. tiger salamanders)

Invasive annual grasses could suck up the water, causing it to dry out quicker

What are the major challenges to plants in the CAG?

Poor wildfire management & encroachment of the WUI.
More intense fire and drought.

How come range managers and ranchers never plan for an average year in California?

There is no such thing as an average year - variable amounts of rain/grass so it is hard to plan how much cattle to match to grass.

What are some of the ecological impacts of the suppression and genocide on California's indigenous people? Provide examples.

Loss of cultural burning led to denser forests = fuel accumulation

Too much thatch

Exploited commons (rivers and overfishing)

What are some persistent livestock production/handling related traditions derived from Spanish and Mexican influence in California?

Branding - returned free-roaming animals to owners

Buckaroo - Vaquero, herded cattle/horse

Roping, lasso

Why is most of the central and southern coast and central valley of California privately owned, with some notably big private properties like the Tejon Ranch?

Ranchers/farmers took the best land (nice soil, water).
Tejon Ranch was originally a Mexican ranch.
Fed gov left with terrible land

Is fire bad for rangelands? Please explain.

No, it’s good!

Prevents nonnatives from taking over because they are less adapted to fire

Burns away thatch. Regrowth point is low for grasses.

Some trees/seeds need fire to germinate!

Nutrient cycling released by organic material into soils

Low intensity burns help space trees apart

In general, what regions of the world do most California non-native plants in the CAG come from?

Mediterranean regions: Spain, Portugal

If we had followed John Wesley's Powell's ideas about allocating the public domain, do you think we have more or less federal land today? Justify your answer.

We would have more federal land today.

Powell's vision: organizing land based on watersheds

- Small private farms near water sources = common water management.
- Large forests owned by communities = foster environmental stewardship.

Goal: Discourage rapid privatization & protect natural resources to increase federal land retention.

How did the 1862 Homestead Act contribute to the dependency of many western ranchers on federal land?

Provided 160 acres of federal land to anyone who agreed to farm the land

Had to show productivity within 5 years, but people trying to cultivate places that aren’t meant to be cultivated

Western ranchers used land for livestock to roam freely, but water access was scattered so it limited land use

Plenty of farms failed so land was federalized and is now grazed

Nevada is more than 90% public land. Why is much of the best, wettest, land in Nevada in private ownership?

Under the Homestead Act, people were given 160 acres of land

Settled in the favorable areas: by the watersheds / creeks, which happened to be the best.

Compare the characteristics of land on each side of the 100th meridian

West - irregular rain, need irrigation. Rangelands predomincantly west of meridian.
East - regular rain

What kinds of places are more likely to have more native perennial grasses like Purple needlegrass?

Places that frequently burn (near railroads), Serpentine soils - low quality

Why does Stuart Weiss believe grazing is important to biodiversity at Coyote Ridge? What are the impacts on structural and species diversity (why?)

Coyote Ridge = serpentine grassland.

N deposition by cars allows nonnatives to grow → butterflies need natives

Cows eat nonnatives → butterflies happy!

List three oak species (common names are fine) in California.
Why are oak woodlands important and what are some of the challenges facing oak woodlands?

Live oak common, black oak, blue oak
importance: provide food/habitat for native americans/wildlife. challenges: sudden oak death, oak loss by land conversion

What are some rangeland ecosystem services?

carbon storage, erosion control, water filtration, oxygen

If you were planning to use grazing to maintain a firebreak in California chaparral, which domestic livestock animal would you use and why?

Goats - their cloven lip allows them to selectively eat leaves, larger liver allows them to digest secondary compounds

Please put these factors in order of their influence on annual vegetation development in the CAG: grazing management, weather, soils.

WEATHER, soils, grazing (small)

What are the three major grassland biomes in California?

Coastal prairies, foothill grasslands, central valley grasslands

What is the most common evergreen oak on campus?

Coast Live oak

Oak woodlands are mostly in private ownership (84%). What are some conservation challenges for the woodlands?

Owners overplant → possibility of overcrowding → fire hazards

Urge owners to use private leasing for grazing to decrease shrub density & decrease fire hazards.

Sudden oak death, land use conversion

What kinds of things affect the distribution of oaks in California and how?

Precipitation (adapted to drought)

Management history - fires, resource competition

If an oak seedling is bitten or burned off is it dead? Why or why not?

NO as long as taproot is intact!

Hard for acorns to become seedlings - they can also survive fires DEPENDING ON FIRE INTENSITY

What is a major difference in dentition between a bison and a zebra?

Bison = no front teeth, gummy plate, graze like cows

Zebras = has front teeth, can grind fibrous veg

Please list and explain some defenses plants have evolved against herbivory.

secondary compounds - hard to digest

high silica - hard t eat, grinds teeth down

spikes/thorns - pain/discomfort

Please list and explain some defenses ungulates have developed against predation.

wide set eyes - wide FOV, can notice predators

hooves - run to escape

move in herds - protect young, strength in numbers

ruminating - chew on bolus later in safer time/place

Why do ruminants need to prevent their rumens from getting too acidic? How might it get too acidic?

Bloating kills them! Acidity dissolves structures/microbes enough to kill them.

Acidosis occurs when foods are too high in nutrients (grains) → convert into volatile fatty acids

Why does a deer chew its cud?

if a deer cannot digest its meal, it will throw it back up and chew it smaller

predation protection - collects lots of food at once, chew in safer place/timing

Explain why horses eat 67-70% more forage than cows per pound of body weight.

Horses = hind-gut fermenters, less efficient at extracting nutrients and thus eat more

What are some of the things that seem to correlate with carbon stored in the soil in California?

Precipitation gradients, temperature, timing, NVDI

How does Stanley explain the extinction of short toothed horses (see Venere 1997).

Cooling/drying climate shrank forests, expanded grasslands.

C4 grasses dominate (thrive in dry climates), contain more silica = hard for short-toothed horses to eat → extinction.

What are three vitamins ruminants can't synthesize and where do rangeland ruminants get them from?

Vitamin A - greens

Vitamin D - sun

Vitamin E - fruits, plants, acorns

What are 3 macro minerals ruminants need? (see Huston and Pinchak)

Calcium (Ca) - bone/teeth formation, muscle/nerve function, blood clotting

Phosphorus (P) - bone/teeth development, energy metabolism

Magnesium (Mg) - muscle/nerve function, activates enzymes in rumen

Forests contain a lot more carbon per acre than rangeland. Why have some papers argued that carbon in grasslands is more stable than in forests?

Grasslands have the advantage of complex root systems, storing carbon underground, making them more fire resistant.

Do you think the removal of grazing leads to restoration of native vegetation in California? Why or why not?

No; Cows prefer non-native because they are taller. When given enough space, they will prefer and target non-native grasses.

RDM: what does it mean and how is it used? Why do we manage for certain levels of it.

Residual dry matter - protects soil, Manipulate thatch

Some species like short grass and less thatch (800 lbs per acre or less) because they like visibility

How did the presence of hwy 101 threaten the Bay Checkerspot Butterfly at Coyote Ridge?

Which of the three plant categories that Dyksterhuis created does cheatgrass belong to?

Fragmented the land. N deposition on serpentine soils by vehicles allowed invasives (cheatgrass) to grow, which outcompete natives. Butterflies need the natives.

Forb

broad leafed, herbaceous plant

woodland

grassland with scattered trees

Grassland

non-woody vegetation, usually from the grass family

Retention time

amount of time food stays in the stomach, can depend on how small the food is

Cultural burning

Prescribed burning as an indigenous practice

Detrivore

animal that eats dead organic material

AUM

animal unit per month: forage req to support 1 cow + calf for 1 month

Importance: measured consumption of livestock on public lands

Grazing capacity

number of grazers that can be supported on the range without damage to resources

Filaree

invasive annual (particularly invasive in desert/more arid areas)

Transhumance

moving grazers from lowlands to highlands to match the seasonal cycle

Vernal pool

aka ephemeral pool: Seasonal, shallow pools of water that provide a unique wetland habitat for niche animals (tiger salamander)

Stock pond

- A pond with a capacity of no more than 15 acre feet used solely for watering livestock or wildlife (azleg.gov)

- block off creeks that don't flow all year. Grazing benefits animals that live in ponds. Keeps grass down. Tiger salamanders like to migrate. Predators don't hide.

Amino acid

Building blocks of protein

Disturbance

An event that changes state of ecosystem and alters resource availability (storm, fire, flood, drought, overgrazing, human activity

temporal diversity

biodiversity over time

spatial diversity

the distributional/spatial arrangements of organsims and the effects of space on the individual and overall ecosystem

Stable state

the point at which a community has long-term resistance to change in structure, function, and species composition

opal phytoliths

fossilized silica structure used to ID historical composition of CA grasslands