Nov. i6. 1914 Revegetation of Range Lands 125 



On both the lower and more elevated lands the new forage resulting 

 from yearlong protection consisted almost exclusively of annuals. A 

 very small percentage indeed of the new stand was established through 

 the reproduction of perennial plants. During the first two seasons of 

 protection, even at the lower elevations, the perennials produced prac- 

 tically no fertile seed. In the third season viable seed were produced. 

 The perennial vegetation, which previous to protection from grazing 

 made such a weak growth that its presence was not observed, finally 

 became conspicuous after one or two seasons of rest. Even under the 

 most favorable conditions reproduction by the perennial species is slow, 

 since the seeds are large and unable to work themselves beneath the 

 surface of the soil. The nonuse of the forage under yearlong protection 

 is a serious matter and would have to be considered before this system 

 could be pronounced practicable. Moreover, the accumulation of in- 

 flammable material during the period of protection would result in 

 increased fire danger. Under any circumstances it could not be carried 

 out on a large scale without a radical readjustment of the stock industry. 



To sum up the facts regarding yearlong protection : The system is not 

 an efficient one, because the most valuable perennial species fail to 

 reproduce by seed. While the carrying capacity of the land is increased, 

 this increase is slow and does not compensate for the waste of the forage 

 crop during the long period necessary for revegetation. 



DEFERRED GRAZING 



Unlike the two grazing systems just discussed, deferred grazing is based 

 upon the requirements of the vegetation through practically a double life 

 cycle, as defined in the section on the life history of the range plants. 



To determine the effect of the deferred grazing system, the vegetation 

 in the different grazing zones was studied for two successive seasons. 

 Convenient areas which had been overgrazed in various degrees and 

 which were large enough to support a band of sheep after the seed had 

 ripened were closed to grazing from the beginning of the season until 

 the seeds of the important species had matured. Upon maturity of the 

 seed crop the range was grazed moderately by a band of sheep during 

 the remainder of the season. The following year the same area was 

 closed to sheep for the same period in order to give the seedlings an 

 opportunity to develop a root system strong enough to withstand tram- 

 pling and also to permit a second seed crop to be developed and dis- 

 seminated in case the first year's seeding was unsuccessful. When the 

 area had been sati.sfactorily reseeded, it was grazed early in the season, 

 and a second area, large enough to maintain a band of sheep from the 

 time of seed maturity to the end of the season, was reserved for deferred 

 grazing. Results of a study to determine the abundance of seedling 

 reproduction under the deferred grazing system, as compared with that 

 under other systems, are shown in Table VII. 

 62697°— 14 3 



