APPLIED ECOLOGY 



335 



Fig. 180 (2). The next year, after gully-control work, this excellent 

 planted pasture had taken over, the soil was stabilized and the field saved for 

 long-continued usefulness.— Both photos by U. S. Soil Conservation Service. 



produce themselves, the need for pasture ecology increases. The 

 necessity for seeding is now widely accepted. Many species have 

 been tested for palatability, yield, food value, and soil-building 

 properties. Growing pastures is still, however, largely a hit-or- 

 miss affair that requires much more study. Regional pasture ecol- 

 ogy has not progressed as far as range ecology. There is much yet 

 to be learned, tested, and put into practice. The implementation 

 of such a program will be difficult in many sections where pastures 

 are not generally recognized as a crop to be managed like any 

 other. 



An illustration of the misconceptions regarding pasture is the 

 common practice of including the farm wood lot in the pastured 

 area although it provides little more than browsing, which sup- 

 plements feed during off seasons. To the ecologist, it is obvious 

 that this is at the expense of seedlings and ground cover and that 

 it will result in stand deterioration. 160 Silviculturists have shown 



