USE OF ANNUAL PLANTS IN CALIFORNIA FOOTHILLS 6 



stock operators is how to obtain the most efficient use of the present 

 cover of annual plants. 



This circular reports studies of use of foothill range by cattle at the 

 San Joaquin Experimental Range. 3 The studies have shown how range 

 management can be geared to the typical yearly pattern of annual- 

 plant growth, with sufficient flexibility in ranch operation from year 

 to year to meet variations in time of growth and most of the fluctuations 

 in forage yield. The studies have also shown the grazing capacity of 

 different kinds of foothill range, and how plant growth and cattle produc- 

 tion are affected by different degrees of grazing. Finally, the studies 

 have developed practical guides for increasing the efficiency of range use. 



EXPERIMENTAL AREA AND METHODS 



The San Joaquin Experimental Range, a tract of approximately 4,500 

 acres, is located within the woodland-grass vegetation type in the Sierra 

 Nevada foothills on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley. Elevation 

 of the experimental area is from about 700 to 1,700 feet above sea level. 

 The soils on the slopes, mainly sandy loams, average about 1J^ feet in 

 depth and have numerous outcroppings of the granitic bedrock. The 

 bottom-land soils, transported from the slopes above, are of heavier 

 texture and are deeper and more productive. 



The herbaceous cover on the experimental range contains a fairly 

 representative mixture of annuals; it includes grasses, grasslike plants, 

 filaree, 4 clovers, other legumes, and numerous miscellaneous species. 

 Soft chess, broadleaf filarees, and foxtail fescue, which occur on most 

 foothill ranges, produce about two-thirds of the herbage. Perennials, 

 mainly rushes in the bottom lands, compose about 3 percent of the 

 herbage yields. The native pine bluegrass, a small early-drying perennial, 

 is common but produces less than 1 percent of the herbage. The more 

 valuable native perennial bunchgrasses, stipas or needlegrasses, are 

 virtually absent on the experimental area. 



On some heavier and more productive soils of the foothill area, bur- 

 clover, alfileria or redstem filaree, and wild oat, highly palatable annuals, 

 are much more abundant than on the experimental range, and the forage 

 is generally considered "stronger;" but the problems of management are 

 similar to those on the experimental range. Problems not experienced 

 in the studies do occur, however, on more arid foothill ranges where 

 average annual precipitation is approximately 5 to 12 inches and forage 

 production fluctuates more widely from year to year. 



The guides that were developed from the studies apply in management 

 of the annual-plant portion of the vegetative cover on most foothill 

 ranges. Specific effects of weather and grazing management on growth 

 of individual plant species, however, may apply only in the "Granite 



3 These studies were part of the cooperative interagency research program at the 

 San Joaquin Experimental Range, O'Neals, Calif., during the period 1935-48. In 

 this program the University of California was responsible for the cattle studies, and 

 the California Forest and Range Experiment Station for the studies of range forage 

 production and utilization. Additional information on all phases of this interagency 

 program is given in The San Joaquin Experimental Range (7) (see Literature cited, 

 p. 51). 



4 Common and botanical names of the species mentioned in this circular are listed 

 on p. 50. 



