Pasture monitoring at a farm scale with the USDA NRCS pasture condition score system

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

Volumn 64, Issue 6, 2009, Pages 423-433

  Sanderson, Matt A ^a   Goslee, Sarah C ^a   Gonet, Jeff ^a   Stout, Robert ^a  

^a AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE   (United States)

Author keywords

Grazing management; Livestock; Pasture assessment

Indexed keywords

ASSESSMENT METHOD; CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT; DAIRY FARMING; GRAZING MANAGEMENT; LANDSCAPE STRUCTURE; PASTURE; SOIL PROFILE; VEGETATION STRUCTURE;

MARYLAND; PENNSYLVANIA; UNITED STATES;

EID: 77949579402     PISSN: 00224561     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2489/jswc.64.6.423     Document Type: Article

References (30)

1. ASABE (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers). 2006. ASABE Standards. Procedures for Using and Reporting Data Obtained with the Soil Cone Penetrometer, 1052-1055. St. Joseph, MI: American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
2. Butler, D.M., D.H. Franklin, N.N. Ranells, M.H. Poore, and J.T. Green, Jr. 2006. Ground cover impacts on sediment and phosphorus export from manured riparian pasture. Journal of Environmental Quality 35(6):2178-2185.
3. Byers, R.A., and G.M. Barker. 2000. Soil dwelling macroinvertebrates in intensively managed dairy pastures in Pennsylvania, New York, and Vermont. Grass and Forage Science 55(3):253-270.
4. Byers, R.A., G.M. Barker, R.L. Davidson, E.R. Hoebeke, and M.A. Sanderson. 2000. Richness and abundance of Carabidae and Staphylinidae (Coleoptera) in northeastern dairy pastures under intensive grazing. Great Lakes Entomologist 33(2):81-105.
5. Chanasyk, D.S., and M.A. Naeth. 1995. Grazing impacts on bulk density and soil strength in the foothills grasslands of Alberta, Canada. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 75(4):551-557.
6. Cosgrove, D., D. Undersander, and J.B. Cropper. 2001. Guide to Pasture Condition Scoring. Ft. Worth, TX: USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Grazing Lands Technical Institute.
7. Cropper, J.B. 2003. Ecological sites and forage suitability groups. In USDA NRCS National Range and Pasture Handbook. ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov. usda.gov/GLTI/technical/publications/nrph/nrph-ch3.pdf.
8. Cropper, J.B. 2004. Pasture Condition Scoring. Proceedings of the American Forage and Grassland Council, Blacksburg, Virginia, June 2004, 456-460. Georgetown, TX: American Forage and Grassland Council.
9. Drewry, J.J. 2006. Natural recovery of soil physical properties from treading damage of pastoral soils in New Zealand and Australia: A review. Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment 114(2-4):159-169.
10. Federal Register. 2005. Conservation Security Program. Federal Register 70(57):15277-15283.
11. Godínez-Alvarez, H., J.E. Herrick, M. Mattocks, D.Toledo, and J. van Zee. 2009. Comparison of three vegetation monitoring methods: Their relative utility for ecological assessment and monitoring. Ecological Indicators 9:1001-1008.
12. Hedges, S.C., and D. Kirldand. 1994. Pastures and forages. In Soil Sampling Procedures for the Southern Region of the United States, ed. W.O. Thom and W. Sabbe, 25-30. Southern Cooperative Series Bulletin Number 377. Lexington KY: University of Kentucky.
13. Höglind, M., and B. Frankow-Lindberg. 1998. Growing point dynamics and spring growth of white clover in a mixed sward and the effects of nitrogen application. Grass and Forage Science 53(4):338-345.
14. McCormick, L.H., and G.M. Lodge. 2001. A field kit for producers to assess pasture health in the paddock. Proceedings of the 10th Australian Agronomy Conference. Hobart, Australia: The Australian Society of Agronomy. http://www.regional.org.au/au/asa/2001/3/d/mccormick.htm.
15. Murphy, S.R., and G.M. Lodge. 2002. Ground cover in temperate native perennial grass pastures. I. A comparison of four estimation methods. Rangeland Journal 24(2):288-300.
16. Penn State University. 2002. Agronomy Facts 63. Diagnosing soil compaction using a penetrometer (soil compaction tester). University Park, PA: College of Agricultural Science Agricultural Research and Cooperative Extension. http://cropsoil.psu.edu/extension/facts/agfacts63.cfm.
17. Pueyo, Y., C.L. Alados, and C. Ferrer-Benimeli. 2006. Is the analysis of plant community structure better than common species-diversity indices for assessing the effects of livestock grazing on a Mediterranean arid ecosystem? Journal of Arid Environments 64(4):698-712.
18. Pyke, D.A., J.E. Herrick, P. Shaver, and M. Pellant. 2002. Rangeland health attributes and indicators for qualitative assessment. Journal of Range Management 53(6):584-597.
19. Sanderson, M.A., S.C. Goslee, and J.B. Cropper. 2005. Pasture assessment in the northeast United States. Forage and Grazing Lands. doi:10.1094/FG-2005- 1031-01-RS. http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/pub/fg/research/2005/assess/.
20. SAS (Statistical Analysis Systems) Institute. 2003. SAS for Windows Version 9.1. Cary, NC: Statistical Analysis Systems Institute.
21. Shepherd, T.G., H.J. Janssen, and L. Bird. 2000. Visual soil assessment. Volume 4. Soil Management Guidelines for Hill Country Land Uses. Palmenton North, New Zealand: Land Care Research. http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/ research/soil/vsa/documents/VSA-Vol4.pdf.
22. Sims, J.T., and A. Wolf (ed.). 1995. Recommended Soil Testing Procedures for the Northeastern United States. Northeast Regional Bulletin 493. Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Delaware, Newark.
23. Snyder, C., and R. Leep. 2007. Fertilization. In Forages: The Science of Grassland Agriculture, ed. R.F. Barnes, C.J. Nelson, K.J. Moore, and M. Collins, 355-377. Ames, IA: Blackwell Publishing.
24. Taylor, H.M., and E. Burnett. 1964. Influence of soil strength on the root growth habit of plants. Soil Science 89(1):171-180.
25. Thomas, R.J. 1992. The role of the legume in the nitrogen cycle of productive and sustainable pastures. Grass and Forage Science 47(2):133-142.
26. Tracy, B.F., and M.A. Sanderson. 2000. Patterns of plant species richness in pasture lands of the northeast United States. Plant Ecology 149(2):169-180.
27. Treyse, K., M. Kelm, H. Mehrtens, and F. Taube. 2008. An indicator-based approach for assessing sustainability of intensively managed grassland. Berichte uber Landwirtshaft 86(1):79-102.
28. USDA NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service). 2003. National Resource Inventory 2003 Annual NRI. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/TECHNICAL/NRI/2003/ national-landuse.html.
29. USDA NRCS. 2004. Grassland Reserve Program Environmental Assessment. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/program/env-assess/GRP/Final-GRP-EA-020604IFRule.pdf.
30. USDA NRCS. 2009. Vermont Pasture Condition Score Sheet. http://efotg.nrcs.usda.gov/referenccs/public/VT/VT-Pasture-Condition-Score.pdf.