20 



CIRCULAR 



U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



Table 3. — Average density 1 of vegetation, by class and species, on grazed 

 and ungrazed plots of meadow B, gopher-free from 1940 to 1948 — Con. 



Grazed Plot 



Class and Species 



1940 



1943 



1945 



1946 



1947 



1948 



Perennial grasses: 



Pet. 



0.62 



.19 

 .44 

 .12 

 .31 



.38 

 .72 



Pet. 

 0.69 

 1.09 



.34 



.03 

 .44 

 .25 

 .91 



Pet. 

 0.50 

 1.75 



.13 



(2) 

 (2) 

 (2) 



.09 

 .53 



Pet. 

 0.53 

 1.56 



.09 



(2) 



.12 

 .03 

 .16 



Pet. 

 0.34 

 1.62 



.06 



.03 

 .03 

 .09 

 .28 



Pet. 

 0.44 



Bhiegrass, Kentucky 



Blnegrass, Sandberg 



Brome, mountain 



3.19 

 .66 



(2) 



Needlegrass, Lemmon . . . 



Oniongrass, little 



Wheatgrass, slender 



Other 



.09' 

 .09 

 .03 

 .03 







Total 



2.78 



3.75 



3.00 



2.49 



2.45 



4.53 









1.00 

















Annual weeds: 



Collinsia, littleflower .... 



Tarweed, cluster 



Other 



,2 



2.31 



.03 



.06 



1.56 



.94 



.06 

 1.56 



.09 



.91 



.06 



.50 

 .03 



.50 

 .03 







Total 



2.46 



2.56 



1.71 



.97 



.53 



.53 







Perennial forbs or weeds: 



1.22 



.72 

 5.70 



.06 



.03 



1.03 



1.16 



.84 



(2) 



.72 

 .25 



.62 



1.03 

 4.22 



.03 



.06 



7.22 



2.12 



1.53 



.62 

 .52 



3.03 



4.16 

 2.44 



(2) 



.13 



.03 



7.50 



6.66 



1.56 



.22 

 .53 



3.50 



5.09 

 3.28 



.09 



.03 



5.12 



9.84 



1.03 



(2) 

 (2) 



.25 

 1.84 



1.34 



3.18 

 1.25 



.16 



.09 



4.81 



6.12 



.03 



1.25 



(2) 

 (2) 



.03 

 .25 

 .28 



1.66 



Aster 





Biscuitroot, bicolor 



Bistort. American 



Bluebell, small 



8.09 

 4.91 



Checkermallow, Oregon . 

 Cinquefoil 



.12 



.25 



Clover, longstalk 



Dandelion, common .... 

 Fleabane 



5.09 



4.72 



.03 



Groundsel, Columbia . . . 



Penstemon, royal 



Vetch 



Violet 



1.75 



(2) 



Wyethia, whitehead .... 



Yarrow, western 



Other 



.03 

 .94 

 .19 







Total 



11.73 



17.97 



26.26 



30.07 



18.79 



27.78 







Total, all vegetation 



17.97 



24.28 



30.97 



33.53 



21.79 



32.84 



Square feet per hundred of ground covered. 2 Less than 0.005. 



Annual weeds decreased steadily in both amount and proportion of 

 the vegetation. In 1948 the density of annual weeds was only 1.09 per- 

 cent, or one-eighth that in 1940. The decrease resulted principally from 

 a reduction of the unpalatable cluster tarweed, but the density of other 

 annual weed species also decreased markedly. 



These changes in plant composition, which occurred when pocket 

 gophers were absent, represented improvement in range condition of 

 the ungrazed plot from very poor to between poor and fair. 



Similar improvement resulted from removing gophers in 1940 from 

 the grazed plot of meadow B. Although the grazed plot was in better 

 condition than the ungrazed plot that year, having fewer annual weeds 

 and more perennial forbs and grasses, this difference was largely elim- 



