Michael B. Coughenour

Journal of Range Management Website

Excerpt from Abstract:
"The spatial component of herbivory remains enigmatic although it is a central aspect of domestic and native ungulate ecosystems. The effects of ungulate movement on plants have not been clearly established in either range or wildlife management. While livestock movement systems have been implemented to cope with increases in livestock density, restrictions on movement, and overgrazing, a large number of studies have disputed the effectiveness of different livestock movement patterns. Traditional pastoralism, particularly nomadism, has been perceived as irrational and even destructive, but many studies have documented features of traditional pastoral land use that would promote sustainability. Disruptions of wild ungulate movements have been blamed for wildlife over-grazing and population declines, but actual patterns and mechanisms of disrupted movement and population responses have been poorly documented..."

Contents:

• Abstract
• Spatial Herbivory Patterns in Ranching Ecosystems
• Traditional Pastoral Movement Patterns
• Wild Ungulate Movements and Interactions with Plants
• When Wildlife Movements are Disrupted
• The Importance of Scale for Analyses of Plant-Herbivore Interaction
• Grazing Patterns at Tiller, Patch, and Community Scales
• The Need to Consider Landscape Physical Constraints on Ungulate Distributions
• Models of Herbivore Movements and Distributions
• Modeling Plant Growth Response to Spatial Herbivory Pattern
• Spatial Plant-Herbivore Systems and Spatial Predator-Prey Systems
• Conclusions
• Literature Cited