Table 9 — Green versus cured samples: nutrient and mineral values for all annual plants 







Green 



Cured 





Nutrient 



Units 



(n = 45) 



(n = 31) 



Significance 



Moisture 



Percent 



62.24 



1.10 



<0.0001 



Nitrogen 



Percent 



2.35 



1.00 



<0.0001 



Phosphorus 



Percent 



0.24 



0.08 



<0.0001 



Potassium 



Percent 



2.12 



0.64 



<0.0001 



Zinc 



ppm 



25.64 



14.23 



<0.0001 



Iron 



ppm 



775.39 



809.21 



0.843 



Manganese 



ppm 



64.25 



53.81 



0.143 



Copper 



ppm 



8.44 



6.99 



0.032 



Calcium 



Percent 



1.78 



1.16 



0.029 



Magnesium 



Percent 



0.37 



0.18 



<0.0001 



Sulfur 



Percent 



0.46 



0.18 



<0.0001 



ftnHil im 





n nnfl 



ona 



n 47Q 



ADPi 



Percent 



32.07 



42.59 



<0.0001 



TNC2 



Percent 



10.38 



8.23 



0.167 



Fat 



Percent 



8.90 



6.81 



0.057 



'Acid detergent fiber. 



'Total nonstructural carbohydrates. 



Table 10 — Bromus rubens: nutrient and mineral values for green versus cured samples 







Green 



Cured 





Nutrient 



Units 



(n = 12) 



(n=15) 



Significance 



Moisture 



Percent 



59.70 



24.14 



<0.0001 



Nitrogen 



Percent 



2.63 



1.00 



<0.0001 



Phosphorus 



Percent 



0.26 



0.06 



<0.0001 



Potassium 



Percent 



2.35 



0.69 



<0.0001 



Zinc 



ppm 



24.69 



13.72 



0.001 



Iron 



ppm 



365.67 



646.41 



0.085 



Manganese 



ppm 



47.95 



47.64 



0.974 



Copper 



ppm 



8.68 



6.42 



0.065 



Calcium 



Percent 



0.74 



0.64 



0.406 



Magnesium 



Percent 



0.26 



0.15 



0.025 



Sulfur 



Percent 



0.49 



0.16 



0.014 



Sodium 



Percent 



0.010 



0.010 



0.941 



ADF' 



Percent 



31.88 



42.98 



<0.0001 



TNC2 



Percent 



10.38 



6.17 



0.201 



Fat 



Percent 



9.13 



6.66 



0.057 



'Acid detergent fiber. 



^Total nonstructural carbohydrates. 



Figure 2 illustrates the correlation many of the 

 measured parameters had with one another. The 

 most tightly correlated parameters included potas- 

 sium (13 significant correlations out of 14 possible), 

 nitrogen and ADF (11 each), zinc and manganese 

 (9 each), and phosphorus, copper, and fat (8 each). 

 The least tightly correlated parameters included 

 moisture content (2), TNC (3), and calcium and so- 

 dium (5 each). The average number of significant 

 correlations for each parameter was 7.53. 



Analysis of soil characteristics detected no significant 

 differences between upper and lower collection sites 

 at the three study areas. When the different study 

 areas were compared (table 11), significant differences 

 among the areas were pH (lower at City Creek), so- 

 dium (higher at City Creek, lower at Woodbury-Hardy), 

 SAR (higher at City Creek), and nitrogen (lower at 

 Littlefield). The SAR was very low at all study areas 

 and therefore would not affect pH values to any great 

 extent; ordinarily, it would be inconsistent to have the 



9 



